Estate Living Magazine Retirement Living - Issue 40 April 2019 | Page 45

d e v e l O p m e n t
Spaces for care
Early reactions to the obvious ineffectiveness of the corridor style
of building in caring for older people and/or people with dementia
involved creating spaces that replicated traditional households. It
was certainly an improvement, but they failed to take into account the
difference in social and care interactions in a family setup as opposed
to a residential care setup. So, while the inclusion of sitting rooms
and the clustering of bedrooms did away with the institutional feel of
single-room models, these initiatives were only partly successful for
two reasons, according to McMorran. The first is that many still rely
on the corridor system between the units, and the second is because:
despite being considered a home-from-home, activities are generally
segregated in exactly the same way as in one’s own home. All the
same problems of social disconnection remain. Without substantial
assistance, independent access to daily routine and activity remains
as difficult as in one’s own home. Consequently the necessary high
ratio of staff to residents (two to five or six) creates an unsustainably
labour-intensive care model. But, most fundamentally, the social
structure is exactly not like one’s own home, for in this model each
resident shares “their” home with the other residents.
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I N V E S T M E N T
Echoing the inevitable comparison between children and older
people (starting to see where the term ‘second childhood’
originated), McMorran discusses playground design:
Playgrounds are an excellent example: opportunity for a child to
independently choose their preferred activity is made abundantly
possible by the layout of a wide range of safe spaces containing
different play equipment. While playing, it is possible for each
young person to scan across and see what other playmates are
enjoying, and make further independent decisions about what – or
what not – to do next. Learning by participation leads to confidence
building; trusting friendships are established. Significantly, family
and friends – “the carers” – are able to easily and passively supervise
the playground because generally sightlines are clear. The need for
intervention and intrusion is minimised, and anticipated difficulties
can be pre-emptively handled before a crisis develops. This whole
scenario would be ridiculously impossible were the playground and
each play zone accessed by corridors and surrounded by high walls.
It’s a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. If people (children, older
people, dementia sufferers, you and me) are kept confined to one
space from which we can’t see other people, and can’t identify
opportunities for interacting, we will just wither away. We’ll get
bored, and, to misquote Yoda: ‘Boredom is the path to the dark side.
Boredom leads to frustration. Frustration leads to anger. Anger leads
to suffering.’
Creating caring spaces
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Arrange bedroom/apartment accommodation to directly
embrace the main activity area without resort to corridors –
opportunity for immediate engagement is imperative.
The main activity area should allow direct lines of sight for
residents and staff – enabling way-finding for residents, and
maximising ability for unobtrusive visibility of residents by staff.
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From Architectonicus’s work in designing dedicated dementia care
facilities in the UK, Australia, Canada and Europe, McMorran has
distilled some basic principles for ensuring more effective, efficient
and caring care, and – most importantly – better quality of life for
residents (and consequently, also for staff).
The simple take-home message from all this is that the best possible
designs for social interaction – regardless of who the residents are
– utilise a central courtyard with rooms and/or units facing inwards
and facing each other. And, while these courtyards may be square
or rectangular, they don’t have to be (in fact, triangular courtyards
have some advantages), particularly in terms of creating access and
flow to gardens and other outdoor areas.