Dementia Design Consultancy




Approach


To work with service users and their families, health practitioners, care staff, care providers, architects, commissioners, regulatory and inspection agencies, the scientific and academic communities and government to understand and improve existing environments and to design new ones.



7 Point Program for Dementia Design and Consultation


1. Work with service users and families to:
- Develop nature-based activities and social involvement
- Integrate carers needs into the design and activity curriculum
- Develop a nature-filled environment conducive to communication and creativity


2. Work with health and social care providers to:
- Educate on the achievable benefits of nature for health and emotional well-being
- Show nature in a therapeutic context that enhances their care and practice
- Promote an integrated program of nature, architecture and dementia care
- Establish centres of excellence in nature-based creativity.


3. Work with architecture firms and building commissioners to:
- Integrate nature into the facility during the planning and design process
- Input advice and expertise into design and planning decisions
- Translate and communicate the vision of the operations and management team
- Produce landscape architectural drawings and planting plans
- Educate and advocate for the development of edge spaces in buildings


4. Work with the scientific, academic and design community to:
- Maintain a database of evidence on nature in dementia care environments
- Conduct research on the architecture and landscape of care practice
- Formulate and evolve a set of environmental design criteria
- Develop new and innovative research methodology for human environment


5. Work with regulatory and inspection agencies to:
- Improve service provision through environmental design
- Set up ongoing design research as a quality assurance indicator
- Establish best practice sites they can endorse and promote


6. Work with academic institutions to:
- Develop and teach courses and modules within a dementia design curriculum
- Innovate methodology for human-environment behaviour research
- Develop and teach postgraduate coursework on research methodology


7. Work with governments and policy makers to:
- Put connection to nature for people with dementia onto their political agenda
- Include access to nature & outdoors into legislation and policy regarding care environments





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