Forward // Between// 2 Steps

This research explores how architecture can respond to the aging process, not as a phase of decline, but as an ongoing spatial negotiation. It critically analyzes Turkey’s nursing home facilities, questioning the cultural, regulatory, and spatial norms that portray aging as a form of exclusion. It explores a range of scales, from state policies on institutional design and furniture to GIS-based urban mapping and the physical experience of taking a single step.

Aging is a societal issue closely tied to cultural context, with each culture experiencing aging uniquely. The project advocates for spatial care tailored to the specific fragility of each setting and asks: What happens when architecture is designed with a focus on the aging body, one that slows down, shrinks, and faces memory challenges?

By drawing on body politics, the research suggests that nursing home spaces should be understood by examining the movement of the foot, because older adults walk cautiously, watching their steps as they navigate between two paces. In that view, a floor is not merely a surface but a landscape of contact, which I call ‘groundscape,’ a field of interactions, encounters, risks, and obstacles. Therefore, instead of traditional plan drawings that look from top to bottom, the groundscape should be designed from floor to ceiling to reveal the barriers on the floor. Recognizing that anthropometry isn’t universal and measurements should be context-specific, I propose ‘Geraskala’ as a speculative measuring tool designed for older adults. The research display, which is a full-scale replica of a typical nursing home room, highlights often-overlooked daily obstacles and presents a 3D two-step grid to visualize these spatial issues, critiquing the shortcomings of standard institutional design rules and norms.