From Digital Home Magazine | www.digitalhomeonline.com
How to Design Digital Homes that Boomers Will Love
They love technology and chances are they'll be in the market for a new home. Here's how to give them what they want.
By Herb Hauser and Jim Vande Woude
01-03-2008
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New boomer developments should include thoughtfully designed technology amenities. |
Working on residential construction projects today is different than it was even a few years ago. The rate of technology development coupled with demand from the marketplace pose a daunting challenge for residential builders. How can they prepare for the technology of tomorrow when most projects take several years to design, finance, and work through pre-construction? The technology is old almost before the first shovel hits the ground.
This dynamic is especially challenging when the target market itself is also changing. Many developers now are focusing on the boomer market, which represents the largest pool of potential customers. The younger end of the boomer spectrum includes ages 45 to 55, while the older end is typically 55 and above. As you might expect, these groups are alike in some ways and different in others.
The boomer generation as a whole is the first generation that has grown accustomed to having technology that caters to their needs. Therefore the desire for technology in their homes is as natural to them as having basic utilities. But the way they use technology will change as they age. Much of our company's practice is devoted to helping real estate owners and developers envision the everyday life that boomers want to live and advising them on how to best provide it.
Laying the Groundwork
The challenge for a technology designer is to specify an infrastructure and recommend applications that will accommodate boomers' thirst for being connected to all types of media and peripherals throughout the living space. Moreover, the infrastructure should extend to common areas as appropriate for property so as not to limit the techno-intelligence of the project.
We generally join a project at the very earliest stages of pre-design, work through the property's business plan, and help develop the budget. Thereafter we serve as one of the trades on the job, always making sure that the final build reflects changes in technology. This ensures that when the sales office opens, the property will reflect the most current needs and desires of the market.
When a design is geared toward a certain demographic, you need to understand that group's comfort level with technology. Younger boomers have grown up with technology. They've wired their own homes, integrated their own systems, owned three generations of computers, and been a major force behind whatever "cool thing" is being installed in new projects today.
Younger boomers like to be in control of their own technology. They want the devices they own to work seamlessly with new, more advanced systems. One of the most common mistakes in projects today is to install what looks nice, what matches the aesthetics, and what will fit into the budget, but not what is actually needed. We'd all agree that a multiservice interface jack is not the prettiest device to have in your kitchen or bathroom, but boomers will want to hook up something in those places. Until a more aesthetically pleasing design is on the market, boomers would rather have an ugly jack than no jack.
What other technology designs might run counter to prevailing thought? Ethernet connectivity in the master bedroom closet might be considered a boneheaded idea, but boomers who want to keep their PDAs online throughout the night would greatly appreciate it. And while it used to be customary for a developer to run low-voltage wires in a daisy-chain configuration, this practice no longer supports the needs of today's technology. Only a home run, structured wired environment will do.
Technology Through the Ages
Older boomers tend to want all the same conveniences as younger boomers, but without the hands-on experience. When designing for those boomers we take a somewhat different approach, which we call Forward Living. Forward Living means dynamic, healthful, and active senior living in one's home through the use of technologies that adapt to the needs of an aging individual over a period that may span as much as 30 years.
For example, technology that boomers are using today might be too cumbersome for them to manage as they age. Devices that have small displays, small, tightly grouped knobs and buttons, and small or hard to reach plugs and ports, become more difficult to use as one ages.
With a little forethought, integrators can pre-design systems that are easily re-configured as the resident ages. Think in terms of multiservice outlets at a height that makes them accessible without bending all the way to the floor; touch panels with displays large enough for older eyes to focus on; and devices that have buttons that are larger or easily replaced with larger buttons. In addition, investigate digital lighting, which makes it easy to change color and brightness for better visual clarity, as well as security systems that make greater use of motion sensors and remote alarms, which provide convenience and peace of mind--essential as people advance in years.
These little details provide added comfort and help people feel like they can function in their home while cruising into their golden years.
Designing the infrastructure to support Forward Living is key. Multiservice interface jacks should be installed with enough slack in the wiring so they might be moved to a higher location as the resident's mobility decreases. Extra network capacity should be run to key areas. The kitchen should be wired for future installs of food management devices, which might remind a resident it's time to eat or advise a loved one that the resident has not eaten. The bathroom might be wired to support "smart medicine cabinets," while the bedroom could someday include motion sensors. Even entrances to the home could be wired to someday provide a gentle reminder if a door has been left open.
All of this applies to single-family homes and multiple dwelling units. And none of it means you can overlook amenities you'd normally offer, like a Web site for your building, keyless entry, built-in security, and more. However if developers don't tailor technology to their target market, they'll miss out on a chance to enhance their products and really serve their customers.
Many developers have started to see the value of adding additional infrastructure to support new technology. They're installing the information backbone to support multiple service providers, building management systems, and multizoned entertainment in common areas. Now they need to start extending those backbones into the living to support the Forward Living concept. It won't be long before we see all developers install the best of the best in every construction project, thereby enhancing the overall technology IQ of their final products.
Herb Hauser is president and Jim Vande Woude, vice president of Midtown Technologies LLC, a systems integration and design firm in New York City.
© Digital Home Magazine 2008
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