Review of Residential Design for Aging in Place by Drue Lawlor and Michael Thomas: Wiley, Hoboken, N.J.; 2008; ISBN-13: 9780470056141. Price: $75.

Residential Design for Aging in Place by Drue Lawlor and Michael Thomas addresses an important societal issue: how to design residences to enable aging in place for the rapidly growing number of seniors in the United States and in many countries worldwide. Of particular concern is the “Senior Tsunami,” a name sometimes given to the rapidly growing number of Baby Boomers who are just now approaching the traditional retirement age of 65. It is clear that we could never build enough assisted living facilities to accommodate the massive number of elders indicated by the daunting Baby Boomer demographics. Nor should we, since multiple surveys have indicated that the vast number of seniors desire to age in their own home, or “age in place.” Moreover, most seniors do not have the financial resources to move by choice into assisted living facilities or continuing care retirement communities.

Residential Design for Aging in Place examines the major topics associated with adaptive residential design to enable aging in place. Topics include assessing the elder population, including the need for short-term and long-term care adaptations; exterior and whole-house accessibility; designing various areas of the house (especially the kitchen and the bath); applicable laws, codes, and standards; and working through the design process with relevant aging specialists such as attorneys and physical/occupational therapists. Each topic is covered in depth and is supplemented and enhanced with high-quality photographs throughout the book. The 16-page glossy color photo insert of interior design exemplars in the middle of the book is especially attractive, and the text is clear and well written throughout.

Lawlor and Thomas make clear that the scope of their book goes beyond universal design and presents a more holistic, interdisciplinary approach to adaptive design of residences for aging in place. Clearly the authors performed a thorough search of the literature, as indicated by the extensive reference lists at the end of each chapter. The appendices also include the following useful additions: (1) an exhaustive list (including Web page addresses) of professional organizations and contacts to assist designers of residences for aging in place (Appendix A); (2) a summary of universal design principles and related U.S. laws (Appendix B); and (3) a substantial listing (again including Web page addresses) of products and vendors that address aging-in-place matters (Appendix C). Appendix C alone provides a significant resource to the residential designer who wishes to accommodate adaptive aging in place. The authors are to be commended on the thoroughness and utility of these appendices.

It is apparent from the text descriptions and photographs in this book that most of the subject matter is rather upscale and therefore tends to apply more to middle- to upper-income homeowners. This reviewer wonders how much of the material in this book would be applicable to retrofit scenarios in low- to middle-income residences. As a result, the book appears less applicable to the lower-income strata, the largest target population of American elders both now and in the foreseeable future. As such, this represents an opportunity lost for the authors to address a wider socioeconomic profile of senior homeowners.

In summary, this reviewer found Residential Design for Aging in Place to be a readable and informative book on an important contemporary topic. The appendices contain highly useful further information links that would likely have significant usefulness for residential designers. The book would make a useful addition to the reference library of any residential designer who wishes to address adaptive aging in place.