The overall improvements in health and longevity have already quickened the pace of global aging. Between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of population aged 65 and over in Asia is projected to increase from 7% to 18%. The elderly are generally in greater need of health care services than other age groups. Individual countries each have their own culture, economic conditions and show distinct levels of development; such differences have led to different stages of design research in healthcare and senior living architecture.

China is still in the primary stage in this area. At the 2014 International Symposium on Design and Health held in Beijing in October 2014, the significance of healthcare and senior living architectural design research in China’s development was emphasized by reporters and participants from the government, hospitals, universities, and design agencies both at home and abroad. Both green construction of new hospitals and quality transformation of existing hospitals are of great importance to people’s livelihood. A large number of international private hospitals are under construction in China, causing knock-on effect on the design and construction of public hospitals. Since most international design and design research are based on Western culture and are for Westerners, their applicability in China is yet to be explored. This is crucial to the design and development of healthcare architecture in China. Although China has already initiated studies in the area, there are no relevant research institutions in the central provinces. Moreover, research in senior living architectural design started internationally in the 1980s, but it is still at its infancy stage in China.

Our institute won a project from the National Social Science Foundation in 2013. Our project, a Sino-U.S. Comparison of Senior Living Architectural Design and Its Industrial Competitiveness, is by far the first national foundation project of its kind. We have already conducted some research through which we realized the lack of design research in the area and the urgency to improve the quality of construction. The current rapid development of senior housing market and the integration of medical and nursing services for the elderly have given rise to new issues and insights as well as opportunities for the researchers. National conditions should be fully taken into consideration in the design and research. How to foster a high-quality environment for healthcare and senior living based on norms is a question that needs to be answered promptly in order to improve the competitiveness of China in the area. As a part of Henan University, our team has been committed to the research and education in related areas.