With populations around the world aging rapidly, we need to re-think how we design for older people. We can keep older people safe, but trapped in gilded cages. Or we can design to keep them active and fully integrated in society. Professor of Design Jeremy Myerson, former director of the Helen Hamlyn Design Centre at the Royal College of Art in London, makes a powerful case for the latter through the examples of everyday objects and adapted architecture.

The Helen Hamlyn Centre of Design at the Royal College of Art in London has been developing projects that aim to make everyday life easier for older people for the past 15 years, it is a pioneer in terms of research in inclusive design. Jeremy Myerson, co-founder, was its director for 16 years, until October 2015. As an academic and author about the role of design for almost 40 years, he began as a journalist, working for magazines such as Design, Creative Review, V&A Magazine and World Architecture. He is also Director of WORKTECH Academy and an Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Institute for Population Ageing.

The conference below took place at a TEDx event independently organised by a local community.

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This video recalls the theme of the 434th issue – Ageing well in place -. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui questioned existing architectural solutions for the elderly and the associated innovations. How can we help these young-olds to grow old at home, where they have lived their life, without being uprooted? What kind of living arrangements and services does this ageing population require?

Find the 434th issue on our online store.