Leeds Star Newspaper’s Post

📣 We are thriller to share our last article on "Residential Care Facilities for Users with Alzheimer’s Disease: Characterisation of Their Architectural Typology” with the following argument: 👉🏻 The design and construction of residences for persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been based on the recommendations of design guides, the results of empirical tests with samples of the population, and the experience of architects and planners. The reiteration of certain patterns, criteria, and guidelines has given rise to a new type of building that has not yet been explicitly described. The aim of this paper is to determine the main characteristics of this typology. This research is based on a critical review methodology, analysing 30 care homes built over the last four decades across various global contexts. Detailed surveys of plans, projects, and buildings were carried out, allowing a comparative analysis of the architectural attributes to determine the most influential parameters for these buildings. The results indicate that environments designed with safety, accessibility, and opportunities for social interaction in mind—and, above all, those that are personalised to the needs of this collective—significantly enhance the behaviour, emotional state, and cognitive state of their residents. The main theoretical contributions include identifying and stating the key features of this type, such as small scale, basic cell housing, comprehensible organisation, and sensory stimulation of spaces, among others. The breakthrough of this study that differentiates it from other works in this field is that it provides concrete guidelines to approach the planning, design, and construction of these kinds of residences. The significance of this research lies in the definition of this unique typology, which is not characterised by its morphology, shape, or formal composition but rather focused on promoting an adequate cognitive and physiological reception of the space by the users. This building concept has important management implications, as its construction must provide for and integrate specific care services in a residential setting for people with AD. 👉🏻Grant PID2020-115790RB-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 ✨ #healthyarchitecture; #architecture and #health; #healthyenvironments; #neuroarchitecture; #Alzheimer; #publichealth; #architecturaldesign; #ActiveAssistedLiving; #planning #residentialcare_homes; #geriatricbuildings; #nursinghomes;

https://wix.to/otQa893 #rewildmystreet #30DaysWild Day 9 #urbannature benefits theme: #healthandwellbeing My recent article for the Wellbeing issue of the Journal of Biophilic Design explains that rewilding principles can be applied to most buildings in cities, including homes, hospitals, schools, offices, and public outdoor spaces to benefit the building users' wellbeing. It advocates adding nature to new and existing buildings to create wholesome homes, healthy hospitals, stimulating schools, wild workplaces and peaceful public places: https://lnkd.in/eGm6nQdt Healthcare buildings are where we need to focus on regaining our wellbeing, so it is good to know that hospitals with views of nature can quicken patients’ recovery times and that nature can contribute to preventative healthcare. Nature is central to the design ethos of Maggie’s Centres, which are intended to support the wellbeing of cancer patients and their families. The building shown here (image: Willie Miller via Flickr), in Glasgow, is by architect Rem Koolhaas and includes an inner courtyard and wooded glades by landscape designer Lily Jencks: https://lnkd.in/eYdkCNgg

Creating welcoming and comfortable environments supports both patients and their loved ones. Check out this article to see how innovative design is transforming healthcare spaces. #architecture #healthcare #healthcarefacilities #wellness #design

As technology and innovation grow, our scope of care changes and shifts, which influences the vision for the design and structure of healthcare facilities. As someone fully vested in the design and construction of senior living communities, there are more specialized needs and features to consider. For seniors, some of the design features they need the most are: -Natural Light is important -Spaces to foster social connections -Provide access to the outdoors These are just a few of the design features to process when designing for senior living communities. Which ones would you add? #SeniorLiving HealthcareDesign #SeniorCare

🚨 Sterile design is failing the elderly—and it’s failing us too. Every room we design, every hallway we build—it’s not just a space. It’s a life. But what happens when those spaces don’t care? Too often, our elderly spend their final years in environments that feel more like prisons than homes. Sterile lights. Locked doors. No gardens, no fresh air. We call them "functional," but in reality, they’re stripping away dignity. Designers: What are we building? Decision-makers: Are we prioritizing efficiency over humanity? This isn’t just a challenge for architects. It’s a call for empathy. It’s time to design spaces that heal—places where joy lives in sunlight, connection thrives in open gardens, and dignity is woven into every detail. 💡 What would it look like to create spaces that care as much as we do? 🔗 Read the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZbkYXWV

This is not a wheelchair accessible bathroom and yet this is the bathroom in our rental apartment that I will have to contend with when I do eventually return from the hospital with my healing broken leg. Even at its tidiest—I haven’t been home in a month, hence the mess 😅—my power wheelchair takes up the entire open floor area making it difficult for me to do basic functions or for a caregiver to help me. With all the focus on new housing construction, why are we still building bathrooms like this? Or spaces that are even smaller? Why do building codes permit the construction of spaces that are almost guaranteed to be inaccessible to an aging population and their changing health needs? These are the questions I’ve been contemplating as I lay in this hospital bed both longing and dreading to go home… Read more in my latest post: https://lnkd.in/gjVeGpYD

Over recent years we have explored best practise in the design of dementia care environments, recognising the role physical spaces have on empowering, or indeed obstructing, the lives of those living with the condition. But, with the focus for many architects and interior designers on private spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms, one area often overlooked is the care home dining room. People with dementia can take longer to eat, have trouble with co-ordination, and in some cases have difficulty swallowing. Some may also need one-to-one support or cues to help them eat. And, with staff-to-patient ratios in many care homes at an all-time low, mealtimes are one of the most stressful and demanding parts of the daily routine.

Really looking forward to Design in Mental Health 2024 in Manchester next week, where Darwin Group will be unveiling our refreshed Bedroom Evolved - quite literally building on the great feedback and lessons learnt from last year. If you're at the conference you can hear me talk more about the thought, theory and lessons learnt at 3pm on Tuesday 4th June. Here's my synopsis; "The Bedroom Evolved was Darwin Group’s exhibition at DiMH 2023, constructed by Darwin Group in collaboration with numerous exhibiting consultants including Safehinge Primera, Medical Architecture, Polar and Tough Furniture. With the ambition of progressing discussion around Mental Health bedroom design, the project went from being a concept to a physical space in a matter of weeks. Initial meetings started in February 2023, construction commenced in May, and the final project was successfully unveiled at the Design in Mental Health conference on June 7 2023. Everyone who worked on the project had the same vision – to create a ‘real’ room that felt homely and less like a clinical setting, but at the same time, was as safe as we could possibly make it. The result was a fully realised prototype; a 12 tonne, 32sqm space including a bedroom, en-suite and connecting corridor constructed entirely by Darwin Group in their Shropshire Production Facilities, elevating the potential of Darwin Group’s approach to MMC within the Mental Health sector. With everything fitted off site, the completed room made the short trip to Coventry where it was craned into place. In this presentation, Louis Sullivan, Principal Architect at healthcare construction specialist Darwin Group, will chronologically walk through the design of this project, exploring some of the thought process behind decisions, recollect on some of the insightful discussions we had over the two day conference, and finally share the lessons learnt and good design we will take forward into future projects. It is hoped that through this presentation, we will be able to share some of the insightful feedback we received from fellow architects, consultants, Trusts, and experts-by-experience, with the hope that learning from the Bedroom Evolved will make its way into future built projects."

Designing for Health: Healthy Streetlife "Twenty years after becoming an architect a difficult truth I have learned about architecture is that when it comes to health we are often causing harm and failing to create the conditions to support good health." Here's my reflections on a part-time PhD undertaken alongside healthy urbanism practice and during a global pandemic and some suggested street smarts for practitioners. #HealthyStreetlife #University of the West of England https://lnkd.in/eA6U5Wrw

A B O U T A R C H I T E C T U R E D E S I G N This is one of my first projects at university. It dates back to a few years ago when I was a bachelor’s student. We were tasked with designing a hospital on a challenging site due to the abundance of trees. This was one of my earliest experiences where I tried to preserve the trees because I believe nature is everything, and it’s essential for both humans and our planet. Additionally, I aimed to create a more innovative design for a standard hospital. Most hospitals I had seen had dull and uninspiring spaces that didn’t evoke hope. My goal was to blend nature (trees) with the hospital environment. And i made an effort to ensure that every patient’s room had a pleasant view of the trees and the sky. The main space is a large ramp where people can move between floors. Every patient’s room has a window facing this ramp because it surrounds a big void filled with trees. Patients who cannot move easily can still see the movement of other people, the swaying leaves of the trees, and the sky. It is absolutely important to find hope in life through other people and nature. I firmly believe that our mental health can significantly improve our physical health. I also wanted to design a hospital that feels different, one that provides a sense of inspiration and connection rather than the usual sterile and uninspiring atmosphere. Marjan Masoumi Rad #معماری #Architecture #طراحی_بیمارستان #HospitalDesign #معماری_پایدار #SustainableArchitecture #طراحی_خلاقانه #CreativeDesign #معماری_در_هماهنگی_با_طبیعت #BiophilicDesign #سلامت_روان #MentalHealthMatters #فضاهای_شفابخش #HealingSpaces #طراحی_با_هدف #DesignWithPurpose