Date of Award
Spring 6-1-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master in Interior Architecture
Department
Interior Architecture
First Advisor
Jonathan Bell
Second Advisor
Markus Berger
Third Advisor
Julia Bernert
Abstract
More than 50 million people live with dementia worldwide. For reasons of familiarity, affordability, and psychological comfort, the home is uniquely preferred by people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers for aging in place. Ample studies show that built environmental features (e.g., furnishing, lighting, layout) influence the daily lives of PwD. These features can be modified easily and with fewer disruptions to daily life at home. However, most PwD and their caregivers usually have little knowledge of what can be achieved through simple interventions to environmental features.
There is a great need for an exhibition to explain the dementia-friendly home environment to the general public. Therefore, a series of annual exhibitions, distributed around the world and adapted to the characteristics of the local home environment, is introduced. These regularly-held and updatable exhibitions can meet the constant new cases and build long-term relationships with people for multiple study visits.
This laboratory immersion exhibition will break through the traditional format of communicating information. During the continuous exploration and interactive activities in the experiment areas, visitors can learn about dementia-friendly home environments to facilitate and customize evidence-based home modifications by themselves. Meanwhile, the simulation of the real home environment brings visitors through a more immersive experience. The exhibition will also help promote further research in this field through bringing together PwD, caregivers, researchers, and designers to communicate the best practice. In the end, the exhibition should provide support for creating dementia-friendly environments and help improve PwD’s quality of life.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Wenjin, "Remember me: how we can modify the home for people with dementia" (2021). Masters Theses. 725.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/725
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
View exhibition online: Wenjin Wang, Remember Me How We Can Modify the Home for People with Dementi