Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Designing with Intelligence: A Qualitative Study on the Development of AI Tools for Home Adaptation for Older Adults

Reconfiguring homes for older adults or individuals with limited autonomy poses major challenges, requiring collaboration among architects, clinicians, caregivers, and technology experts. Integrating these disciplines into a unified workflow is complex. AI-based technologies can support this process through collaborative decision-making tools, but must reflect the actual needs of professionals. This paper presents a questionnaire developed to identify such needs. Administered to 20 professionals, the study explored their roles, challenges in home reconfiguration, use of medical data, knowledge of assistive technologies, and expectations for AI tools, especially regarding integration with current systems, enhancing collaboration, and the capabilities AI should provide. Preliminary results indicate a strong willingness to adopt AI-based systems and the role of multidisciplinary collaboration: collaboration between healthcare professionals and architects emerges as an important aspect (for understanding occupants’ needs and assisting in selecting suitable assistive technologies), while applying accessibility regulations in real contexts can benefit from AI-mediated expertise.