Designing for Dementia: An Approach that Works for Everyone

Abstract

With the increase of an aged population and with life expectancy also increasing, it is not surprising that all forms of dementia, in particular Alzheimer’s disease, are also presenting at higher numbers in this population. While it could be argued that Alzheimer’s has been with us throughout all human existence, it was not until Alois Alzheimer’s empirically identified the disease in the early twentieth century that professional attention began to increase. It was not until the late twentieth century that environmental designers and gerontologists began to fully understand that the built environment could contribute to the efficacy for the effects of dementia.

With intensive and sensitive study of how the environment can help mitigate the effects of dementia and thus provide a higher resident quality of life and greater independence, designers have provided several successful examples of congregate care environments as well as examples of how the care program and environment act together complimenting each other resulting in care and housing that can be applicable to a broader elderly cohort.

This chapter will discuss how dementia-specific environmental design has evolved, providing an appropriate stage for resident-centered care and for integrated programming that celebrates the individual as opposed to the stereotype. The chapter will include examples of early and sensibly evolved overall environments and examples of individual elements within the design that have been effective and others that were simply contrived and should be avoided. There will be discussion on how and why these design approaches are not only good for residents with dementia but for all elderly individuals living in a congregate care setting.

This chapter will also provide examples of successful environments both domestically and internationally and how designers can incorporate those successful elements in future dementia environments or in any elderly care and residential setting.