Including Smart Architecture in Environments for People with Dementia

Abstract

Environments which aim to promote human well-being must address both functional and psychosocial needs. This paper comprises a description of a framework for a smart home environment, which aims to comprehensively address issues of environmental fit, in particular for a person with cognitive impairment associated with dementia, by means of introducing sensing of user affect as a factor in system management of a smart personal life space, and in generation of environmental response, adapting to changing user need. The introduction of affective computing into an intelligent system managing environmental response and adaptation is seen as a critical component in successfully realizing an interactive personal life-space, where a continuous feedback loop operates between user and environment, in real time. The overall intention is to maximize environmental congruence for the user, both functionally and psychosocially, by factoring in adjustment to changing user status. Design thinking, at all scales, is perceived as being essential to achieving a coherent smart environment, where architecture is reframed as interaction design.

Interactive architecture as a therapeutic environment for people with Alzheimer’s disease, a scoping review

“…Including interactive architecture in patients' environments improved their physical and cognitive rehabilitation and their self-esteem (Marquardt et al, 2014;McCullough, 2005;Yates et al, 2019). VEs play an important role in the improvement of PWAD's physical and cognitive rehabilitation, including in such areas as memory retention, attention, and problem solving (Dalton 2017;Fasilis et al 2018;Hofmann et al 2003;Moyle et al 2018). However, there are some gaps concerning the integration of VEs in residents' rooms.…”

“…This requires that PwD be involved in the design process and implies that it is essential for technologies to be thoroughly tested in a real-world environment and not solely in laboratory conditions. Another study (Dalton, 2017) described a framework for a smart home environment that aims to comprehensively address issues of environmental fit, in particular for people with dementia. This includes a means of sensing the user affect as a factor in the system management of a smart personal living space and generating environmental responses that adapt to changing user needs.…”

“…However, future studies are needed to expand the available tasks, increase the available environments, and examine their clinical impact. Suggestions have been made for dementia-friendly room designs, but the effectiveness of these in improving the safety of dementia patients has not yet been tested (Dalton, 2014(Dalton, , 2017. The author noted that the ideal environment for PwD should be adaptable to compensate for the loss of cognitive function and to decrease the patient's susceptibility to stress of environmental origin, so that the room environment becomes prosthetic or compensatory.…”

Impact of Design on Emotional, Psychological, or Social Well-Being for People With Cognitive Impairment

“…Two groups were identified-positive physical characteristics of indoor space as proposed by Heerwagen (2000), including variety in the volumes of space, positioning of outdoor areas to be readily visible and accessible, adequate levels of lighting, thermal conditions within the comfort range, and assistive technologies (ATs). The latter was considered separately, as researchers from computer science backgrounds (Burleson, Newman, & Brotman, 2012;Dalton, 2014) detected changing functional and psychosocial person-states that could increase independence and provide motivational support for social relationships. This in turn seemed to enrich the relationship between the person and the residence.…”

“…Burleson, Newman, and Brotman (2012), Dalton (2014), and Salces, Baskett, Llewellyn-Jones, and England (2006) identify ATs' potential to increase independence in people with a disability by providing personalized levels of assistance and/or compensating for poor design and a deteriorating PER. They also suggest AT can enrich the relationship between a person with disability and their residence by empathetically adapting to meet individual sensibilities.…”