Garden design
culture change journey towards more advanced practices, which will result in higher engagement levels with their outside spaces. Non-drawing design interventions can help care settings address the reasons why they are not engaging actively with their outside space. Because ‘culture’ (the way in which an organisation does things) is subtle and hard to detect when you are in it, we, as outsiders with fresh eyes, have a key role in drawing attention to the subconscious beliefs and practices that are holding the setting back from engaging with the outdoor spaces that it already has. This may lead to the setting changing routines, habits, and beliefs, all of which take time, so this process needs to be included in the project timeframe and in any outcomes and performance measures relating to engaging regularly with the current outside space. This is particularly true for care settings that have not resolved Health and Safety concerns towards the outdoors in general. Without allowing the setting time to deal with these culture change activities a brand new design is not likely to result in an actively used garden after the novelty has worn off.
Asking pertinent questions Non-drawing design interventions are not actually complicated, and are something that we probably do naturally anyway, but may not believe they are part of a designer role. A key aspect of this approach is asking questions that interrupt an assumption or belief about something. An insightful question to ask that will provide the designer with very useful information would be: “How are you using your current outside space?”
This question is deceptively simple, yet powerful and revealing about the
subconscious patterns of behaviour and attitudes that may otherwise go largely unquestioned. It can help the designer to gauge how fearful of Health and Safety issues the setting actually is. The following story shares an example of where pursuing this question became a good ‘interrupter’ to bring some of these subconscious beliefs back into conscious awareness for the staff at the setting to focus on what was really important and needed resolving first before any future drawing-based design support could be initiated. Mark was invited to work up a design for a suburban care home. A roundtable meeting was arranged with representatives from residents, their families and staff, who had prepared a wish list of items, totalling £20K+ for their new garden. Mark asked to see the current outside space and questioned them on why they felt they were unable to use this existing secure area. He noted that a keypad code was required to be used and that the doors were locked that lunchtime. He asked why the doors were closed on such a nice day. The reply was that the area just beyond the doors was dangerous as there was a three inch gap between the concrete slope leading to the door and the edge of the building wall. It represented a fall risk. Mark asked why this repair had not been made to allow residents and staff to go outside. It appeared that the staff had ‘forgotten’ about this reason for keeping the doors locked. In essence, keeping the doors locked had become a subconscious response to the unrepaired
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gap. The wish list, needless to say, did not include the repair. Mark proposed that this repair be made and to re-establish the daily practice of opening the doors to the garden before returning to have discussions about the wish list and a new garden design. By making the creation of a design plan dependent on the completion of both repairs and time to embed new routines of re-engaging with the current outside space, this is likely to lead to a more appropriate design brief if subject to confirmation through subsequent site visits that engagement is happening once the former obstacle has been overcome. Other simple areas to look into may
include: n Are routes to the doors internally clear and easy to use, particularly for residents using mobility aids or who may need a helping arm?
n Are rooms adjacent to garden areas used for functions that make it likely residents will step outside? For example, a cinema room with chairs facing away from the garden does not invite engagement, particularly for people living with a dementia.
n What activities and caring functions does the home do that could be done outside? Have they considered taking some activities outside? What extra considerations or equipment would be required so that this could be done in the garden?
n When a resident wishes to go outside – particularly those who need assistance
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com February 2024
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