The environment around a person can affect their mood, energy and quality of life. This is especially true for people who have dementia, which is why it is important they live in a good and healthy environment. As designers it is important that we have goals for the overall design before we start a project. When designing for people who have dementia some of those goals need to be directed towards improving people’s cognitive ability, social ability, and physical ability (Timlin & Rysenbry, 2010). There are many ways to meet these goals in a memory care community.
One of the best ways to design for a cognitive impairment is to build on the strengths that the residents already have. People with dementia have a hard time remembering things on their own but if they see or hear something that is familiar it can remind them of a person or event. For example, a dining table in a room can help a person remember that they are in the dining room and that this is where their meals are served. It can also bring back positive memories of them having dinner with their families and friends. By having recognizable items in a room, it helps residents to know where they are without a staff member or someone else telling them. It plays to their strength and give the resident the dignity of knowing where they are without help (Timlin & Rysenbry, 2010).
Many dementia patients struggle with stress and anxiety when they are in a memory care community. It is important that there are things that can help reduce triggers and allow the residents to be in a calm and quiet environment. If a room has to many different noises, it can cause a dementia patient to become stressed because they cannot block out all the noise. All rooms need to be flexible so if a resident does get stressed the staff can change the room to accommodate the resident. There also should be other multi-purpose rooms close to each other so if a resident does get overwhelmed the staff can move that resident to a different room without disrupting the other residents in the current room. The design of every room should be flexible and easily transformable to create different environments for residents (Timlin & Rysenbry, 2010).
The design of a space can encourage residents to be more social. Having small family dining tables encourages residents to socialize more with people at their table. It also helps to reduce stress of having to sit at a large table with a lot of people they do not know or remember. Also having smaller dining areas helps to keep residents from becoming agitated and disruptive. Having warmer, stronger colors in the dining room encourages conversation and interaction between residents. Some residents fight with the staff because they do not want to eat their meal. Colors such as coral, peach, and soft yellow have been known to encourage eating. Using these colors in the dining room will help residents to eat which in turn helps the staff to keep the environment friendly and positive. Shorter hallways that pass through a few common spaces helps to keep residents social as well. When they pass by a common area, they are more likely to stop and socialize with others who are in that area. Residents need to stay social because studies have shown that being social helps to improve their quality of life (Schwarz, Chaudhury & Tolfe, 2004).
It is important for dementia patients to be safe and to use their physical abilities. The two main areas of design that can influence the use of a person’s physical ability. These areas are sight and mobility. As people grow older their eyes start to wear out and many people develop different conditions that make it harder for them to see clearly. There are ways that interior design can help to make it easier for people to see in a space. One way is to provide adequate lighting levels throughout the building (Timlin & Rysenbry, 2010). Lighting levels should be double the normal standard in high activity spaces. Also, there should be plenty of natural light coming in through the windows. Spotlights should be avoided because they create dark shadows that could visually confuse residents. The dining room needs to be evenly lit with good light levels so residents will not have any trouble seeing their food. This will also help to make their food look more appealing which makes them more likely to eat and enjoy it. Color contrast between the walls and floors is another design feature that needs to be included in order to help residents see the different surfaces. The door should be a different color than the wall so residents can find the door and know that it is not part of the wall (Pollock & Fuggle, 2013). A good way to keep resident out of service areas is to paint the door to the service area the same color as the wall so residents will not use the door (Timlin & Rysenbry, 2010). Having good lighting and color contrast is important in keeping residents safe.
Many memory care residents will have trouble with mobility. Every space in the community should support mobility and help to prevent falls. They should also have enough space where residents who are in wheelchairs or have a walker can easily move through the space. Dining tables should be high enough so a wheelchair can comfortably fit under them so the resident can sit in their wheelchair at the table. Also, in the living rooms there should be extra space so a person in a wheelchair can sit and see the TV. There needs to be handrails in the hallways and in as many spaces as possible so people can move around as they please (Timlin & Rysenbry, 2010). Creating walking paths that connect smaller areas to larger areas helps to encourage mobility and exercise. There also needs to be outdoor walking paths so residents can get fresh air and wander around. When creating walking paths designers should determine meaningful decision points that can assist residents in finding their ways. These decision points can include signs to help with wayfinding or a color change so a resident can see that they are entering a new area. Walking paths need to be protected enough so that residents stay safe, but it still needs to give residents the freedom to chose where they want to go (Davis, Byers, Nay & Koch, 2009).
Interior design can help improve people’s quality of life. The design of a space can encourages people to exercise by having dedicated walking paths. Also, the lighting and color choices can affect people’s mood. When a building has good lighting and nature views it can improve a person’s mood. Dementia patients have trouble remembering where they are or what a certain room is used for. Designers can help them remember by having items in the room that will spark a memory from the patient. The memory can then help them to remember what the room is used for. The interior of a space can help to keep people happy and help them to live better lives.
Sources:
Davis, S., Byers, S., Nay, R., & Koch, S. (2009). Guiding design of dementia friendly environments in residential care settings: Considering the living experiences. Dementia,8(2), 185-203. doi:10.1177/1471301209103250
Pollock, A., & Fuggle, L. (2013). Designing for dementia: Creating a therapeutic environment. Nursing and Residential Care,15(6), 438-442. doi:10.12968/nrec.2013.15.6.438
Schwarz, B., Chaudhury, H., & Tolfe, R. (2004). Effect of Design Interventions on Dementia Care Settings. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias,19(3), 172-176. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
Timlin, G., & Rysenbry, N. (2010). Design for Dementia. Royal College of Arts.
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