Abstract
As new forms of bodily vulnerability emerge, personal objects play a crucial role in preserving identity and protecting everyday routines. In the context of home care, the domestic environment becomes a site of ongoing adjustment, where objects are assessed and modified in response to changing physical abilities. This paper proposes a reflection on the potential of inclusive design when applied to the home environment, and its role in supporting ageing at home. Drawing on observations of domestic situations and interviews conducted with residents and healthcare professionals, we aim to reveal the tension between assistance and autonomy, between the adaptability of objects and the valorisation of the elderly’s capacity, while developing a critical perspective on the role of the designer — situated between supporting vulnerability and recognising the situated knowledge of inhabitants.
Keywords
Care, home, design, adaptation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2383
Citation
Ravet, E. (2026) Between Assistance and Autonomy: The Home as a Field for Inclusive Design, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2383
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Between Assistance and Autonomy: The Home as a Field for Inclusive Design
As new forms of bodily vulnerability emerge, personal objects play a crucial role in preserving identity and protecting everyday routines. In the context of home care, the domestic environment becomes a site of ongoing adjustment, where objects are assessed and modified in response to changing physical abilities. This paper proposes a reflection on the potential of inclusive design when applied to the home environment, and its role in supporting ageing at home. Drawing on observations of domestic situations and interviews conducted with residents and healthcare professionals, we aim to reveal the tension between assistance and autonomy, between the adaptability of objects and the valorisation of the elderly’s capacity, while developing a critical perspective on the role of the designer — situated between supporting vulnerability and recognising the situated knowledge of inhabitants.