We are all ageing: Celebrating International Day of Older Persons with Design Age Institute

‘My design philosophy is characterised by a professional commitment to creating functional and ergonomic solutions that anticipate future needs’ writes Darshan Shah, an India based architect who just completed our MA Design Products. This commitment is clear in his 3D printed footwear project LEAP which aims to cater to individual users' needs across the population through smart technology.

The project meets the market drive towards customised footwear without a hefty price tag by using generative design to make shoes tailored to individual needs at scale. The concept could widely benefit older people as their footwear needs change and diversify through the ageing process.

Just Keep Breathing by Slovenian filmmaker, Anej Golčar explores elder abuse in a familial setting through puppetry and stop motion animation. The film portrays an intense experience of hostile design on a low budget airline from the point of view of Anej’s protagonist. ‘It’s not dealing with the perception of the elderly from a young perspective. It’s more about caring for each other amongst the elderly’ he explains.

Anej’s research interests during his time on the MA Animation have focused on the inherent emotive constraints and morbidity of puppets. And his practice uses this emotional lack to the film’s advantage. As he explains ‘I really like the fact that puppets can’t really emote the same way people can. In a way that makes it more universal.’

What is the future of human kinship as we choose new kinds of relationships? Zijian Chen explored architectural models for the future of human kinship on the SuperFutures platform, a research-led studio in which our MA Interior Design students use speculative spatial design to identify emerging transitions in humanity and society.

In his research, Zijian returned to the ideals of the Bloomsbury Group, a group of artists in the 1920s and 30s who lived alternative lifestyles between houses in London and Sussex, with a particular focus on Charleston House in Sussex.

Rather than being structured around a single family unit, Zijian’s designs structure interiors around communal and solo living. With spaces where people can be part of everyday communal life while also having their own personal space.

Ran Zhou is a multimedia artist and filmmaker working between London and Vancouver. Her experimental works are concerned with how power regulates bodies. The GR-2192 Series was made in collaboration with Yunshan Jiang as an ongoing photography, sculpture and performance project, exploring the boundaries of privacy and morality when facing ageing and disease.

The project originated from Ran Zhou’s research into the D’Arcy Island Leprosy Colony for Chinese Immigrants to Canada in the Nineteenth Century. In London, Ran Zhou developed this further with access to the Wellcome Collection’s digital archive on leprosy and Ran Zhou’s research into medical and fashion photography as part of our MA Contemporary Art Practice. This research allowed the series to intertwine narratives on history and health within artistic practice.