Dementia-friendly care village in focus
Open space and light among key design features
A glimpse of what the new Stirling Care Village will look like, with its emphasis on being dementia-friendly, has been revealed.
A conference on design for dementia and ageing at the Iris Murdoch Building at Stirling University heard how the project architects have taken advantage of sunlight and the landscape to create a general feeling of wellbeing for the care village.
The spatial layout will also help orientation; social areas will encourage independence and interaction; the interior design will offer opportunities for reminiscence and memorabilia; and colour contrast will help wayfinding.
The design concept supports Stirling’s ambition to be a dementia-friendly city and the village will be built around a series of public spaces and therapeutic courtyard gardens.
In addition to ground level gardens, specially designed roof terraces will offer access to outdoor spaces and fresh air from upper floors and footpaths will encourage access to nearby woodland.
Key design features include a village green, landscaping with new planting and trees, courtyard gardens, roof terraces, and raised planters for gardening.
Entrance plazas and community amenity spaces are aimed at encouraging sociability and providing spaces for gathering and activities.
Single en-suite bedrooms have been included to maintain dignity and privacy which can be adapted to suit individual needs and large scale wall graphics and display cabinets to provide opportunities for reminiscence, memorabilia and personalisation.
In 2016, 90,000 people in Scotland were diagnosed with dementia and more than 4,900 live in the Forth Valley area.
Shiona Strachan, chief officer of the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “The number of people affected by dementia is set to double in the next 25 years and it is estimated that, at any one time, up to one in four patients occupying a hospital bed will suffer from some form of dementia.
“It is with these figures in mind that we have worked closely with the architects to make sure this important new development is designed to be dementia-friendly at every level to help meet the increasing demands of an ageing population and set new standards for dementia-friendly design.”