Chris and Sally’s House: Adapting a home for people living with dementia (innovative practice)

Abstract

How can domestic housing be adapted to support people living with dementia staying in their own homes for as long as they choose? This paper describes the innovative practice of using evidence-based design personas in a building refurbishment project (Chris and Sally's House) with a multidisciplinary team of architects, ergonomists, psychologists and experts. A 100 sqm Victorian two bedroom house was adapted to help educate house builders, carers and relatives on how to better support those living with dementia to live in their own home for longer. The design principles include clear sight lines, mobility support and provision for overnight carers.

Design Creativity

“…Another example is a set of five dementia personas developed and validated with clinicians, care providers, and designers (architects). The personas represent the symptoms, care needs, and design needs of people at different stages of dementia: 37 Alison (new diagnosis), Barry (thinking about moving into a care facility), Christine (living in a care facility), Chris and Sally (living at home), and David (end of life, living in a care facility).…”

“…The five personas supported the creation of an adaptable environment that is suitable for people at different stages of dementia and on good, average, and bad days. 37 Aspects of the design approach, layout, colour scheme, product, furniture selection, and so on are explained and illustrated in five short films of the personas with patient actors. 39…”

“…This approach sometimes leads to the potential for selective information gathering, aligning more with their existing beliefs and expectations. 37 Designers, on the other hand, try to embody a mindset characterised by pure curiosity during the process of needs identification. Once this crucial phase of needs identification is firmly established, designers can go on to specify the objectives that the proposed solutions should fulfil, a step known as requirements analysis.…”