Futures-Oriented Directions in Sustainable Design for Senior Housing: A Scientometric Analysis of Research on Energy Load Reduction and Occupant Comfort (1980-2025).

Abstract

In light of the accelerating global trend of population ageing and the pressing need to reduce energy loads within the building sector, the design of housing for older adults from a sustainability perspective has emerged as a significant interdisciplinary challenge. However, existing literature has not systematically integrated two critical domains: the physiological and psychological needs of older adults and the architectural approaches that can effectively reduce energy consumption. This study aims to identify conceptual gaps and map the intellectual structure of this field through a scientometric analysis of 646 English-language documents (1980-2025) retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science and merged into a single deduplicated corpus. Utilizing Bibliometrix and VOSviewer, we examined co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence patterns, and factor analyses. Findings indicate that terms relating to health and the built environment, to housing and energy, and to social and cultural context, occupy distinct and weakly connected regions of the corpus, bridged by comparatively few terms. Annual output was minimal before 2000 and rose steadily from the mid-2000s to its highest observed level of 66 publications in 2025. The principal clusters center on health and care, housing and energy efficiency, sustainability and urban policy, and ageing in place. Although the field has experienced rapid growth, interdisciplinary collaboration among architecture, energy systems engineering, and the social sciences remains limited. Within this corpus, terms concerning thermal comfort requirements for older adults and those concerning, low-energy architectural approaches are weakly connected, indicating where integrative frameworks remain sparse rather than establishing that none exist. By identifying this pattern, and the limited connections among these thematic clusters and author networks, the present research indicates directions for architectural approaches that are not only sustainable and energy-efficient but also equitable, human-centered, and genuinely responsive to the needs of ageing populations.