Re-Designing Dementia Friendly Environments Evangelia Chrysikou1, George Blanas2, Stamatia Kylindri3
1
University College London,
[email protected] 2
TEI of Thessaly,
[email protected]
3
TRC of Thessaly,
[email protected]
Abstract Dementia still presents low diagnostic and interventional accuracy (Christensen 2009). Yet, the conditions of care and the built environment could in the meantime cover part of the gap (Zeisel 2010). Dementia patients are between the marginalized social groups that depend on family and caregivers for physical needs and for decision making in everyday life (Dupuis 2012). This includes their living habitat. Specialised environments for dementia date well back into the previous century, however, lately we witness an increase in the scale and the degree of integration of the intervention models. The Dutch paradigm of specialized, dementia villages is an example. Yet, what exactly a dementia village is? The paper reflects on the challenges that it might present for its built and social environment. This perspective is in line with the current thinking of the interconnecting relation between spatial and social contexts. It is also in accordance with the medical architecture discourse between clinical and hospitality aspects of healthcare facilities and lessons learned from both and for both paradigms. It highlights key aspects of the design and planning projects for dementia spaces either as new habitats or redesign projects of existing habitats in terms of place making and human recourses management in an integrated manner. These could then set the ground for the production of the first set of European guidelines for [a] the identification and conversion of existing settlements and hospitality infrastructures to dementia friendly communities and tourism destinations respectively and [b] for the quality management of the supportive organisations.
Christensen, C. M., J.H. & Hwang, J., (2009), ‘The Innovator’s Prescription’. New York: McGraw-Hill Dupuisa S., Whyteb C., Carsona J., Genoec R., Meshinoa L., & Sadler L. (2012) Just dance with me: an authentic partnership approach to understanding leisure in the dementia context, World Leisure Journal, Vol. 54, Issue 3, September, 240254 Zeisel, J. (2010) ‘I’m still here – A breakthrough approach to understanding someone living with Alzheimer’s’, Great Britain: Piatkus Keywords: hospitality management, built environment, medical tourism, dementia care,
