Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design | 13 What first drew you to architecture, and how did your focus evolve toward dementia-friendly and inclusive design? Early on, and still very much oblivious, I was first drawn to the potential of making and creating; to the romanticised ideal of being a professional who was lucky enough to spend most of their work day drawing. Some years into my professional career I came to the realisation that architecture is a far more profound tool that has the power to shape the way we perceive our surroundings and our lives. Was there a particular moment or project that made you realise the importance of designing for vulnerable communities? Yes, it was one very clear event. I remember my nanna had recently moved into care and I went to visit her for the first time. It was a dull, nondescript, temporary space where newly-admitted residents spent their first days, or weeks, until a bed became available in one of the permanent units. She had a bed, a bedside table and a chair, and a potential for some privacy if the curtain was drawn. That was it. Her whole life had been packed into one suitcase, which she had to negotiate to get around when left open due to the very limited space. In taking in all that I was distracted by an anxious melancholic voice imploring to be let out the front door. Her frail posture, firm expression and the way she tugged at the door handle stayed with me long after. That was my first real exposure to dementia and it was probably the meaning I had been yearning for a long time. I discussed the episode with a colleague and mentor, who was also experiencing the same transition with an older family member, and encouraged me to look into it further. I signed up for an international conference on design in mental health and soon after won a scholarship to pursue my doctorate, and the rest is history. In the broader spectrum of person-environment behaviour relations, dementia sits at the more demanding end, therefore it was immediately clear that to really understand the effect of the environment on individuals, I had to understand people with dementia in their environment. Your PhD introduced a new methodology for assessing wellbeing in dementia care environments, can you break that down for us? Scotland has been pivotal in research in the field of dementia and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to read for my Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh. I had a fantastic multidisciplinary team of supervisors from the fields of architecture, health and medicine and access to a network of international researchers. Much of my fieldwork was spent in dementia care environments across the UK, then specialised dementia care settings in Australia, Japan and Malta. Following accreditation as a Dementia Care Mapper from the University of Bristol, I developed an observational methodology that builds on their mapping system by including the physical environment as one of the variables. For the first time it locates people in a given space, thereby defining their behaviour as a function of that space, amongst other factors. Quite simply, people with dementia, like all other people, behave in different ways in different places and the environment is an essential part of their quality of life. The research was particularly focused on the value of outdoor environments and access to outdoor spaces in care environments, something which I feel very strongly about. The method identifies elements within care environments that may be conducive towards positive behaviour and wellbeing, supporting freedom, autonomy and personhood of the person with dementia. In your view, what are architects still getting wrong about designing for mental health and cognitive conditions? Designing cognitive environments is about returning to first principles and understanding the way we navigate and negotiate our surroundings. A research background, exposure to qualitcy best practice examples and strong evidence-base is certainly an asset. How does your role as a lecturer influence your approach to practice, and vice versa? The roles have been developed in tandem and continue to inform each other. Research is the cornerstone of our practice, and the projects are an opportunity to test and develop the research. How do you encourage students to engage meaningfully with social and inclusive design? Over the years I had the opportunity to design and develop a credit specifically around such realities in architecture. Beyond equiping the students with a theoretical basis to approach such projects, we engage with local NGOs and government organisations yearly on real projects in the community. This gives the students first hand exposure working with users with a diverse range of needs and vulnerabilities. Users are not approached as clients but as active agents that are empowered to parcitipate in the creation of their immediate environment through engagement and co-production. What was the vision behind Local Office for Architecture, and how has it shaped your work since? Local Office for Architecture is a research-led architectural design practice that aspires to create environments that are equitable, enable individual growth and support collective wellbeing, through user-participation and collaboration. Architectural and person-behaviour research is central to what we do. What were the key challenges in transforming two historic townhouses into Dar Tereża? The main challenges were around the state of the townhouses, their designation within the Urban Conservation Area and the allocated budget. The two townhouses were originally one large townhouse which had been subdivided into two separate properties over the years. They were both in a " Some years into my professional career I came to realise that architecture is a far more profound tool than I had imagined, it doesn't just create buildings, it shapes the way we perceive our surroundings and ultimately the way we experience our lives

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