Innovation Series: Advanced Science (ISSN 2938-9933, CNKI Indexed)

Analysis of Research Hotspots and Trends in Interior and Exterior Design of Age-friendly Buildings Based on Citespace – Taking WOS Data as an Example (2016-2025)

Zihan Meng

School of Design and Art, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Liaoning Province, China

Abstract: Against the backdrop of an increasingly severe aging population, the interior and exterior design of age-friendly buildings is crucial for addressing the rapid aging trend. Current research on the interior and exterior design of age -friendly buildings still has shortcomings, such as insufficient attention to hidden health, psychological well-being, and low-skill adaptation. Therefore, this study aims to explore the research trends and hot topics in the interior and exterior design of age-friendly buildings to better address aging. To achieve this goal, this study employs a quantitative and qualitative analysis methodology, using CiteSpace 6.4 R1 literature visualization software to conduct a visual analysis of literature data on the interior and exterior design of age-friendly buildings from the Web of Science (WOS) from 2016 to 2025. The qualitative analysis utilizes case studies. The study identified three key findings: 1) Keyword clustering revealed that research hotspots in the field of age- friendly buildings focus on core issues such as optimizing elderly care service models, caring for special elderly groups, resource allocation, and the integration of medical and elderly care; 2) Time trend analysis showed that the focus of elderly care research has shifted from traditional physical care to meeting psychological needs, and from implementing single solutions to cultivating professional talent and designing age-friendly environments, indicating increasingly diversified and professional research; 3) The Fengzhiya Nursing Home was selected as a case study, demonstrating how it achieves a balance between privacy and openness in age-friendly spaces through functional zoning, modular design, and intelligent adaptation. Based on these findings, the study proposes that the nation, government, and enterprises collaborate to keep pace with the research trends in the interior and exterior design of age- friendly buildings, promoting the compliant development of smart elderly care through a “human-led, intelligent-assisted” model.

Keywords: Interior and exterior design of age-friendly buildings; CiteSpace; WOS

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