NURTURING MEMORIES THROUGH FAMILIARITY & AUTONOMY: ALZHEIMER’S FRIENDLY RESIDENCE

• Main Author: William, Frederick
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Arsitektur
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/81432
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Indonesia, as a developing country with a demographic dominated by a productive age group, will face a surge in the elderly population in the coming decades. As the age of Indonesia’s population increases, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s will also rise. As a disease, Alzheimer’s often causes anxiety and mental burden for patients and their families by creating a void left by the gradual loss of memory, cognition, and personality. Unfortunately, societal perceptions of Alzheimer’s often lead to stigma, negatively impacting the quality of life for sufferers. Alzheimer’s patients are also human; they are frightened, confused, feeling alienated, and they need help and support from their environment and peers. Additionally, many Alzheimer’s care services still only consider the physiological aspects of the patients, while what they need includes psychological, emotional, and social support. Traditional institution-based care environments, such as hospitals, are no longer a viable option for Alzheimer’s care, rigid programs and schedules limit patients' freedom. The feeling among some patients of being objectified, like sufferers just waiting for their end, indicates that the design of Alzheimer’s care facilities must adhere to person-centered care principles. Architecture plays a role as an environment that supports the quality of life for its users and promotes the occurrence of meaningful activities and reminiscence activities through stimuli from architectural elements that can be perceived visually, audibly, orientationally, and olfactorily. The multi-sensory aspect becomes important in the context of Alzheimer’s, considering that memories are recorded through our senses.