ROUND TABLE REVIEW 23


Design Solutions for Supportive Dementia Care Environments


G


iven the daunting estimates that 1 million people will be living with dementia in the UK in 2025, what are the best design approaches for supporting their complex needs in the various care environments that will be needed in coming years? We staged a round table at RIBA in London, sponsored by flooring manufacturer Amtico Flooring, Johnstone’s Trade Paints and WMS Underfloor Heating, in order to attempt to unravel some of the challenges and opportunities for designers. With environmental factors presenting an array of challenges for people living with dementia, a key takeaway was that facilities should above all be tailored to the individual; a challenge for institutionalised healthcare. With a strong panel of experts in the field, including architects, academics and product manufacturers, many insights emerged. Recommendations for industry for improving design are found at the end of this report; the attendees hoped to build on this meeting via an ongoing network to disseminate best practice. The debate looked at the need for design collaboration and tailoring to individuals, and the growth of ‘co-design’ – design teams working in close collaboration with end-users to tailor designs to needs. Some of the established design ‘rules’ for facilities supporting dementia were challenged, as this report reveals.


The debate Rob Hayles from ‘outlier designers’ collective Citizens with Experience, kicked off the discussion by asserting the acute need for bespoke designs, caveating that this challenges advocates of standardised approaches – “there are commonalities, but we must understand and design for the differences,” he said. Clare Cameron, an experienced architect in the field, told the group that the current “silo approach” in healthcare needed to be freed up to ensure all later living facilities support those living with dementia. Cameron said: “It is quite frustrating when clients say that ‘we’re not doing dementia in this building,’ it’s ridiculous; all


DELEGATES • Fiona Walsh, Principal Architect, DDS Architects • Clare Cameron, Architect & Director, PRP Architects • Robert MacDonald, Independent Consultant • Eef Hogervorst, Professor of Psychology, Loughborough University


• Paul Rodgers, Professor of Design, University of Strathclyde


• Lesley Palmer, Architect & Professor, Dementia Services Development Centre, Stirling University


• Rob Hayles, Health & Built Environment Lead, Citizens with Experience


SPONSORS • Sophia Wise, Head Of Regional Commercial UK & Ireland, Amtico Flooring


• Donna Taylor, Colour Design Manager, Johnstone’s Trade Paints


• Ashley Cooper, Managing Director, WMS Underfloor Heating


ADF NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024


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