Productive wandering
Description
Every 66 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease. Because of the baby boomer generation, this number will continue to rise significantly in the coming years (2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures). As a result, it is essential to consider memory impaired individuals when creating space; specifically, those spaces in which patients receive long term care. Though there are claims that a wide range of options exist for memory impaired assisted living, types of care can be easily sorted into three groups: home care, institution care, or for few select individuals, care in specialized communities known as dementia villages. While there is a spectrum of care for each of these categories, more often than not, the main stream option is a typical nursing home or assisted-living facility. The direct influence of traditional hospital typologies is evident in the layout of the building, and is in part due to the use of government funding (Day). Specialized dementia and Alzheimer’s care does exist in some cities, though generally memory units differ in patient demographic and programing, and not in the way that spaces are formed. The idea of a dementia village, an isolated community that encompasses all aspects of living and social life, has proved successful in increasing patient autonomy; however, such facilities often exist outside of the urban realm and are built on the foundation of imitation and replication. Through historical analysis of medical building typologies and formal investigation of spatial relationships, this thesis aims to explore the opportunities within built space that allow aging and memory-loss patients to feel comfort. By flipping the relationship between the private and public realms of the building, it is possible to generate increased social interaction, improving the overall quality of life of the patients.