November 5-November 18, 2014 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 9AA
Designing a
NEW GENERATION
of Senior Environments
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A
ccording to the U.S.
Census Bureau, there
were 40.5 million
Americans over the age of
65 in 2010. This accounts
for 13% of the population.
This number is expected
to increase to more than
85 million during the next
30 years, which represents
more than a doubling of the
senior demographic during
this time period. Americans
with Alzheimer’s disease is
expected to rise from 5.2
million to over 12 million
during this same period.
Industry estimated indicate
that approx one-third of
those afflicted with the
disease reside in adult living
facilities and that the current
gap between supply and
demand for well-designed AD
communities is increasing.
Until a cure for Alzheimer’s
is found, one of the most
effective interventions to
improve the quality of life for
those with the disease begins
with a responsively designed
environment that utilizes
architecture and interior
design as tools to compensate
for cognitive losses that
accompany this disease.
Recent outcome studies have
indicated that a prosthetic
and therapeutic approach to
the physical environment can
assist residents toward more
normal and familiar daily
functioning and therefore a
higher quality of life.
A Responsive Environment
There is a place inside all of
us that is filled with memories
of the past. Memories of
home, family, community,
career and past experiences.
To lose connection to these
“treasures of the past” can
cause confusion disorientation
and even degrees of
desperation.
Responsive design of the
memory care environment
that includes design themes,
design elements and materials
that are likely to be familiar
to residents is an important
objective. These can serve as
linkages to the past and can
promote orientation, identity
and emotional health all of
which should be a goal of the
memory care environment.
Those with Alzheimer’s have
a reduced ability to reason
and make judgments, which
puts these individuals at risk.
They can become confused
and disoriented very easily.
Design solutions should
therefore incorporate simple
and direct circulation patterns
that are easily understood and
comprehended. Distinctive,
memorable, architectural
features that provide cues and
clues of location, along with
the use of familiar building
elements and that allow for
the incorporation of personal
furnishings and objects help
promote orientation.
Those with dementia are
constantly dealing with
changes in themselves
and their world, and it is
important to help them
maintain links to the past
and to “things” that are
familiar. Creating a home-like
environment with rooms and
furnishings modeled after
the single-family home is an
important design objective for
a therapeutic environment.
The design should reflect the
premise that the special-care
living environment is a home.
All aspects of the development
should be residential in
orientation. Some basic ideas
for planning and design are:
• Establish the size and
volume of interior spaces
based on single-family homes
and other residential building
types. Avoid atriums and large
open spaces that are more
commercial than home-like.
• Incorporate residential
building systems and elements
that are likely to be familiar to
residents. For example, doors
and windows should look and
operate much like those most
commonly used in homes.
• Brick, wood siding, sloped
roofs, covered porches,
shutters, fireplaces, staircases,
lampposts and circle driveways
are home-like materials and
design standards from the
single-family home industry
for the impression of the
building.
• Use residential interior
finishings, materials and color
schemes that are familiar and
consistent with the vocabulary
of single-family homes.
• Provide electrical,
mechanical and hardware
items used in the housing
industry for all interior
devices, including light
fixtures, sprinkler systems,
thermostats, door hardware,
bath accessories and kitchen
appliances.
• Provide engaging outdoor
areas that provide a familiar
experience in nature. This
includes plant materials with
recognizable fragrances,
textures and colors. Outdoor
spaces should also provide
Dennis Boggio
President, Lantz-Boggio Architects
Creating a home-
like environment
with rooms and
furnishings modeled
after the single-
family home is
an important
design objective
for a therapeutic
environment.
