Intergenerational spaces – space that unites generations: architecture that unites elderly people and children

The article presents an analytical overview of the concepts and examples of the formation of architecture that unites generations: the elderly and children. According to local specifics, specialist architects from different countries are considering the possibility of such a combination and its reflection in architecture. The information is illustrated with examples of how such a combination of generations is functionally solved with the help of various methods and ways, and it forms a special environment that is both clearly zoned and generally accessible to different age groups of users. The presented architectural examples and concepts from different countries are connected by the main idea - the most vulnerable groups of the population (children and the elderly) today need special attention, not only in terms of ensuring social, psychological and economic conditions but also an updated approach to creating architectural space to meet the requirements of the present. In the article, several typological combinations (mixed-use) of spaces that unite elderly people and children are outlined: a public open library and a nursing home, with a function for children in the form of a playground in a common courtyard; an intergenerational kindergarten with a common greenhouse and cooking areas, in which the presence of a psychological service available to all users enhances the integration component; a school with a home for the elderly, which is zoned horizontally and has common sports and social areas and a large terrace intended for use by both retired persons and schoolchildren; a community centre - a kindergarten, a school, a sports complex and a nursing home in which each functional group has its block, common areas, and the integrative functional component is a common living room and a covered terrace; a town complex with buildings for the elderly and a kindergarten block has a greenhouse and premises for clubs, which are intended for joint activities of children and the elderly; a conceptual combination of vertical farming ideas with housing for the elderly, a public library and a kindergarten. Mixed-use architecture seeps into the architectural and organizational structures of institutions that were recently quite strictly standardized and occupied a specific separate niche in architectural typology. It is already clear that such a modern trend is of interest not only to individual communities but is also becoming a special tool that has specific responses to changes in the social structure in difficult demographic, social and economic conditions.