integrates embodied processes and participatory practices to enhance sensory-emotional awareness in young interior designers and help them understand how to consider the design of spaces from the experience of others, in this instance by bridging the gap between their sensory world and that of elderly people with dementia. Although changes to the senses occur naturally through the ageing process, people with dementia can also experience acute sensory challenges, which in turn, can impact the way they feel about their environment.
As reported by the National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias significantly alter how people perceive what they see, hear, taste, feel, and smell. The severity of these changes varies greatly from person to person, depending on neuropathological modifications, sensory loss, time of day, medication administration, and the social and physical surroundings. In the context of social and physical environments, research by Agnes Houston (2017) shows these challenges may include impaired spatial awareness through seeing, difficulties with loud noises, changes in taste, smell or temperature perception. Yet, Houston points out, very little has been written about it, and this can pose challenges for young designers. Accordingly, this project investigates an important question: how can young designers gain insights into the sensory-emotional world of elderly people with dementia?
Whilst it does not claim to solve this complex challenge, this five-day activity introduced multisensory experiential processes and methods that open possibilities for future research and design. First year students from the Master’s degree course in Interior and Spatial Design in the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy) worked on the site of Piazza Grace, a Dementia Village, equipped with a day care centre for people with Alzheimer’s Disease. The aim of this residential facility is to provide specific therapies and adequate medical and cognitive support to older adults with dementia, and to provide residents with a place to receive care, to live, and to participate in social interactions. The centre is integrated into the village community of Figino on the outskirt of Milan and presents an innovative interior design approach promoting care built around the patient.
The students engaged with real-world contexts and compared their sensory-emotional experiences with those of the guests at the Piazza Grace centre. In doing so, they became better equipped to understand the crucial role of providing appropriate multisensory experiences and surroundings that are tailored to the needs of people with dementia. Insights revealed aspects of the guest experience that were not known to staff at the centre. For example, one of the activity rooms included a sliding screen that was often used to hide one side of the room when the guests are in session. The students found out that the sound of the screen could be extremely uncomfortable for guests. As a result, it was identified that staff could complete the preparation of the room for activities before the arrival of guests so that they would not have to hear the sound of the sliding screen. This may come across as a minor adjustment but nonetheless one that can enhance the experience of the guests significantly since this distressing event occurred regularly. In another example, some of the students identified a small sunny interior space as cheerful and pleasant because it was painted bright yellow and had a pleasant view of the garden. Conversely, some of the guests reported that they found it too bright and uncomfortable; the brightness assaulted their senses. This drew attention to the guests’ preference for calming shaded environments and indirect lighting. These and other insights helped students and staff at the centre better understand the significance and impact of physical surroundings, the quantity, nature, and range of stimuli, on the wellbeing of people with dementia.
Martina Austria, Chiara Biscaro, Eleonora Marelli and Roberta Paganin
Related article
Mace, Valérie and Gramegna, Silvia and Biamonti, Alessandro (2024) Experience is learning: the Piazza Grace case study In: The 7th International Conference for Design Education Researchers. Design Research Society.
Related activities
Mace, Valérie (2021) Designing Experiences - Guiding curiosity with students from the BA Service Design at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. This activity took place on the site of the University of Navarra Museum. Students were invited to re-consider the museum as a public interior, document and map sensory phenomena (sight, touch, smell, hearing, kinaesthesia). They were then able to design interventions that would entice visitors on a journey through the interior and enrich their experience of Museum.
Mace, Valérie (2018) Active Sensing in Soho Square with students from the MA Narrative Environments at the University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins, London, UK.This activity took place in Soho Square in central London. Students were invited to document their sensory impressions of the dynamics between the physical environment and social interactions. They became more attuned to sensory phenomena in the environment and the activity enhanced their understanding of embodied perception.
Mace, Valérie (2020) Sensory Explorations with students from the BA Interior Design at ESDI School of Design (University Jamon Lull), Barcelona, Spain.This activity took place at the ROCA Gallery in Barcelona. Students were invited to carry out a sensory study of the interior space to then translate and synthesise information into a three-dimensional artefact, a form of phenomenological mapping. They became more sensorially attuned to their surroundings and developed new understandings on the relationship between design and embodied perception.
Reference
Houston, A. (2017) Dementia and Sensory Challenges. Dementia can be more than memory. Glasgow: Deal With Dementia. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.lifechangestrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/Leaflet.pdf.