ExoSett story
Retirement Living
A retirement home evolves around its resident, allowing him to remain among friends and familiar surroundings as his needs change.
The pub is in the podium beneath the ExoSett building that has been my home for the last 23 years.
My wife and I moved here into a four-cassette apartment with plenty of living space, a guest bedroom and parking for the car. The guest room was supposedly for visitors, although in practice it was mostly for the children.
We quickly made friends with our new neighbours. Many of those friendships have lasted throughout our time here.
One of our friends is now in his mid-nineties. When we first moved in, he and his wife occupied an apartment much like ours. After she died and his own needs changed, his home was adapted without requiring him to leave the building or give up the address he knew.
His apartment was reduced to two cassettes. One now provides a spacious bedroom arranged around his care and mobility needs. The other contains a large accessible wet room.
Losing his wife was dreadful, and reducing the size of his home could not make that easier. But the home was able to evolve around him. He remained among his friends and familiar surroundings, and he can still come down to the pub in his wheelchair.
That is another benefit of living here. A lift runs directly from the retirement residence into a lobby within the podium. Off the lobby are the supermarket and the pub.
The pub entrance leads first into a small side bar, connected to the larger open bar beyond. We oldies can reserve the smaller room for quieter gatherings.
Best of all, my wife lets me come down here by myself.
Sometimes.
This story illustrates how an ExoSett system might be used. Actual implementations would require project-specific engineering, detailed design and any necessary regulatory approval.
What this story illustrates
An ExoSett retirement residence can provide generous homes for active and independent residents while allowing those homes to be adapted as circumstances change.
Living space, guest accommodation and other facilities can be reduced or rearranged as care and accessibility needs increase. Residents can remain at the same address, close to established friends, familiar amenities and the wider community, rather than being forced to move simply because their dwelling no longer suits them.
Related stories: Downsizing and Simple utilities.