Designing for Dementia

For this inaugural issue of the Evidence Based Design (EBD) Journal we focus on a building type that has been rapidly evolving over the past thirty years: the residential aged care facility, or nursing home. With a growing global trend towards the concept of aging-in-place, residential care facilities are now evolving programatically to meet multiple, complex needs:

• a social and administrative hub for community-based programs.
• residential care for those with significant physical health issues and/or dementia.
• transitional and respite care.
• palliative care outside of a hospital setting.

In the production of this issue, EBD has placed particular emphasis on designing for dementia.

We have reviewed over 1,190 research publications and selected 215 articles that are most relevant to the design process.
All articles have been written with non-academics in mind, by acknowledged experts in the fields of architecture and gerontology. Each article has been reviewed by an esteemed panel of academics, with significant experience in research and design practice.

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