Designing for dementia

Judith TorringtonUniversity of SheffieldSchool of Architecture

EXTRA CARE HOUSING AND DEMENTIA CONFERENCETuesday 15th November 2005

Fielder Conference Centre Hatfield

Person factors

Formal support network

Social network

Physical environment

Aspirations

experiences meaning

Well-being model

Everyone is a house with four rooms – a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into each room every day, if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person

Rumer Godden

Design parameters

Support for the person

Support for old age

Support for cognitive impairment

PrivacyPersonalisationDignityChoiceAutonomy

Preservation of functional abilitySupport for frailtyHealth safety and security

OrientationAwarenessNormalnessSupport for dementia related behaviour

safety & health

community

comfort

physical support

physical support

choice & control

comfort

personal-isation

Quality of life

High dependency

Low dependency

personalisation

normalness

Quality of life

Staff

Safety and security

Support for activity

Finding the way

‘street’

Community and society

Bring me sunshine

Light, view, transparency

Colour

to highlight

to camouflage

Coloursoft co-ordinated colour

pattern free

soothing

absence of glare

matt or satin paint finish

pictures of local landmarks

Meaning of space

It is clear that some residents do not feel ‘at home’ because they worry about paying for their meals when they go into the dining room

..she goes in for her dinner, her tea. “I can’t have any. I haven’t paid for it. I haven’t got any money to pay for it;” they might have done it for 70, 80 years …And now all of a sudden it’s all done for them……(relative).

Mixed messages

Home like

Home like?

x4

Use of buildings

131410 131410N =

type and size of building

large nursingsocial/sheffcaresmall/conversion

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

CHOIBLD

CHOIUSE

33

13

Spaces with meaning

Person factors

Formal support network

Social network

Physical environment

Aspirations

experiences meaning

Selection and evaluation tool kits

Gradmann HausHerrmann and Bosch with Demenz Support

Stuttgart

Johanniterstift, Plochingenremodelled by Demenz Support Stuttgart