practical living
Grand designs
Designing better residential
facilities for people with dementia.
By Katrin Klinger
W
ith the rates of dementia
continuing to rise within
Australia’s population,
increasing attention is being given to the
design of the residential facilities that will
be needed in coming years.
While aged care homes are nothing
new, designing and building facilities
specifically for elderly people with
dementia requires a different approach.
Everything from floorplans and facilities
to lighting and signage must be carefully
considered.
The overall aim of any design is to create
a facility that feels like a home. Residents
may have some reluctance to enter care,
and so ensuring their facility is as inviting
as possible is very important. Residents
need to feel comfortable, secure and
connected both with other residents and
the surrounding community.
Some of the specific items builders and
d esign professionals need to consider
when creating a new facility for those with
dementia include:
• Use of space: Rather than the large
shared living areas that are used within
many older homes, facilities for people
with dementia need to comprise a
mix of smaller spaces where people
can spend time alone or in smaller
groups. This can make the facility feel
much more personal and steer clear of
having a similar atmosphere to a large
hospital ward.
• Integration with outdoors: To
encourage people to spend time
outdoors, there should be ready access
provided to gardens and lawn areas.
Large doors can also be opened during
warmer weather to extend the feeling
of space and bring the outside inside.
• Lighting: It can be tempting to deploy
downlights as part of an interior design,
however these may not be the best
choice. Elderly people often spend time
leaning back in their chairs and so can
end up looking directly at bright lights
in the ceiling. More diffused lighting,
perhaps wall mounted, could be a much
better option.
• Colour schemes: For many people
with dementia, their strongest
memories can come from decades
ago. For this reason, consideration
should be given to using colour
schemes and décors that were popular
in the 1960s and ‘70s. This will help
them to feel settled and may aid in
recall of past events.
• Layout of rooms: It is important to
have a central position for staff from
which they can see down corridors
and into common areas. This allows
them to provide oversight of residents
without them feeling as though they
are constantly being watched. It also
maintains a strong level of safety
and security without becoming too
‘big brother’ like.
• Self-service kitchens and laundry
facilities: While people with dementia
will usually need significant assistance
with daily tasks, there should still
be the ability for them to undertake
some themselves. Kitchen and laundry
facilities should be functional and clear
with an area where less mobile residents
can sit and assist.
• Signage: People with dementia may
struggle to understand signs, so
making use of images as well as words
will help them with recognition and
understanding.
• Low-key perimeter security: Rather
than resorting to heavy locks to ensure
residents don’t wander off on their
own, homes should instead incorporate
systems that alert staff if a resident
passes through an external gate. This
maintains security while also ensuring
the facility can be far more open and
accessible for visitors.
• Integration with community: Rather
than building dementia care facilities
in isolation, consideration should be
given to incorporating them as part of a
wider precinct comprising conventional
residential accommodation and
commercial facilities. This encourages
people to interact with the aged
care residents on a day-to-day
basis, reducing feelings of isolation
and loneliness.
• Geographic location: Thought should
also be given to where new facilities
will be positioned. While some
people might like to live in a country
or village atmosphere, others may
prefer an inner-city location. Having
choice will allow people to find a
facility that more closely matches
their desires.
By taking factors such as these into
account, designers and builders will
be able to create new residential
homes that better match the unique
requirements of those with dementia.
This, in turn, will improve the levels
of care that can be offered and the
quality of life residents experience in
the years ahead.
“It’s all about how you create an
environment for the human being, and
how does the human being relate with
other human beings,” says Luc Deliens,
professor of palliative care research at
Belgium’s Ghent University.
Indeed, some philosophies about
childcare, such as those of Froebel,
Montessori and Steiner, focus on the
independence of the (little) person, which
is simply facilitated by staff. These basic
principles could easily be applied to any
care setting, including dementia care. ■
Katrin Klinger is the director of Collard
Maxwell Architects.
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