Rethinking office space as a place to age; converting an office building into an assisted living facility for people with dementia using a case based approach

Abstract

With rising numbers of people with dementia and increasing office vacancies, this thesis explores how existing office buildings can be repurposed to meet the needs of Assisted living facilities for people with dementia. The study addresses environmental and social aspects through the example of Högsbo, an area dominated by offices and warehouse buildings, currently planned for transformation into a mixed-use residential district. The aim was to identify strategies for converting office spaces into high-quality living environments for people with dementia. Special attention was given to the specific needs of residents, such as orientation and comfort, while considering the building stock. These included adapting the building stock and extensions to enhance the building performance and user wellbeing. Guided by the research question “Is it possible to transform office buildings into high-quality living environments for people with dementia?”, the thesis applied an evidence-based design approach. Analysis of reference projects and literature provided the foundation for design strategies, further refined by the Human-centered-design theory. The results demonstrate the ecological and social potential of adaptive reuse while highlighting key challenges inherent in office typologies, such as narrow floorplans and variation in floor heights. To address these, spatial and structural strategies are proposed, ensuring both functional and atmospheric qualities to meet the demands of the residents with dementia. By combining architectural adaptation with the specific need of the target group, this work contributes transferable insights for the ecological, economic, and social sustainability of future office-to-housing conversions.