Design Philosophies for Desegregated Dementia Environments

Hosted by the Design for Aging Knowledge Community on April 18, 2022. 

Description

Thirty years ago, the design of memory support environments took a huge leap forward with the introduction of small, home-like environments to replace their institutional predecessors. In recent years, another revolution in memory support environments is beginning to emerge, as influences from European models and the increased awareness of social justice for people living with dementia begins to reshape our dialogue about what constitutes ‘best practices’ for dementia-specific residential and community-based programs. A new movement is needed to reimagine environments for dementia that does not start with the institution and layer on person-centered-ness but starts with the simple question: ‘what is normal?’

This course will help designers identify the challenges of creating environments for dementia that prioritize normalcy above all else and suggest design approaches to address those challenges head-on.

Learning objectives

1. Identify existing architectural and operational assumptions that inhibit social interaction and emotional well-being of older adults living with dementia
2. Consider how dementia environments can better connect to their environmental context to weave congregate living environments into the fabric of mainstream society
3. Understand how the built environment plays an important role in defining a ‘normal’ experience that is regionally and culturally specific
4. Explore design strategies for individual expression and personalization in private and semi-private living spaces

Additional resources

Missing Main Street Whitepaper

Shaping Dementia Environments Podcast

Speaker

Max Winters, RA

Max Winters is a planner and architect at Perkins Eastman and has established himself as a thought leader in its senior living practice. Working with senior care providers in the United States and Canada, he has been a trusted advisor in the development of both long-term visions for their communities through strategic and master planning and the realization of those visions through the built environment. He has completed design and implementation of both new building work and the repositioning of existing communities across all pieces of the senior care continuum.