Designing Senior Living facilities is not like designing a student’s hostel, it is a science and an art to design a vibrant community.
It is a well-known fact that colour codes in Assisted Living and Dementia Care Homes have a positive effect on the residents, however there is limited research and lack of detailed and verifiable impact on senior citizens especially in the Indian context.
The larger point of debate is not about universal design or colour tones of resident rooms or doors, the question is, what is Colour Therapy.
As per research, Chromotherapy, sometimes called Colour Therapy is the use of light in the form of color management.
The attached article “Color Therapy in Mental Health and Well Being” by Dr. Rakesh Gupta published in International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM) is an interesting read.
As per the article, Colors have a great impact on us, colour plays a major role in setting up particular mode of mind.
Colour therapy is based on the premise that different Colors evoke different responses in people.
Some colors are considered to be stimulating, whereas others may be soothing and, therefore, colors may impact one’s energy level, mood, appetite, emotions and even decision-making.
Perhaps that means that colour and lighting (i.e. an illuminated form of colour) can be useful healing tools in combating an array of aliments.
Colour therapy has been suggested (though not proven) to positively impact academic performance, aggressive/hostile behavior, asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, blood pressure, bronchitis, dyslexia and learning disabilities, enhanced athletic performance, epilepsy, insomnia, lethargy, lung cancer, migraine, muscle relaxation, prison reform, stress, uterine fibroids and vision disorders.
Colors may also have adverse effects. The Epilepsy Foundation reports that about 3% of people with epilepsy have photosensitive epilepsy, in which exposure to flashing lights at certain intensities or to certain visual patterns triggers seizures.
In my opinion, proper use of colour codes needs to be researched in detail for the well-being of Senior Citizens in India.
Detailed standards and guidelines should be issued by the relevant ministry which needs to be included in the design guidelines for Senior Living projects and also include it as a part of residents therapeutic activities like art therapy, music therapy etc.
Document can be downloaded here (Color Therapy in Mental Health and Well Being) or can be read below