Building senior housing that's quiet and private

On January 11, Jenny wrote:

I'm old and tired of looking for a smaller residence that is quiet. I urge the panel of speakers on 12/02/07 on Housing to reflect on the noisy condos and apartments being built. Especially since the elderly tend to pump up volumes...

Why don't builders, designers have noise insulation in the walls for senior citizens? Most of us who are looking to sell our homes are repelled by the lack of quiet and privacy.

When we talk about senior housing, we talk a lot about safety and mobility, but I'm not sure we talk enough about sound and style. Maybe deep soundproofing ought to be a part of "universal design," or design features that should be incorporated in all housing, not just housing for seniors and people with disabilities.

Construction trends also seem to be favoring the open plan, and nobody is talking much about the limitations of loft and great room spaces.

In his ShorewoodNOW January 10 blog entry, Richard Thieme wrote about his experience looking at downtown condos:

We climbed steep, narrow stairs to what they told us was the bedroom. But all we found was a kind of platform without walls or doors on which a queen-size bed and a small table had been crammed.

We asked the real estate agent what we did if one wanted to watch television downstairs and the other wanted to go to bed. The young couple, who had gone to explore the kitchen that had neither walls nor doors, overheard this and laughed again, loudly.

The young woman came into view around the dining area (large enough for a small round table and four chairs pushed in tightly) and shouted: "Do you really not know?" She seemed amused. "That's what headphones are for!"

Maybe it's generational. Or maybe you don't really appreciate privacy that doesn't require headgear and shutting out your surroundings until after you've had kids. Jenny probably isn't in the minority on this issue!

We're sponsoring Expanding Housing Options: An Issues in Aging Summit the morning of February 2 at the Italian Community Center. We'll mention this point to the panelists. And if you attend, you can bring it up yourself! More information at our website .