Cottage offers showcase of dementia-friendly design

A showcase of dementia-friendly design has been opened at a dawn blessing ceremony at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

The Centre for Co-Created Ageing Research will use a renovated cottage next door to Grafton Campus as their base and a showcase of dementia-friendly design.

Centre co-director Professor Ngaire Kerse says simple, affordable changes can help people with dementia feel safer and more comfortable in their homes or in aged-care facilities.

The centre offers information about making houses more dementia-friendly through new short courses, suitable for everyone from caregivers to architects.

The 1910 cottage brings this knowledge to life, encapsulating dementia-friendly design through its layout, colours, flooring, and kitchen and bathroom fittings.

“We wanted a space that makes it possible for everyone to come to the centre and feel at home, no matter what their age or whether they have dementia or physical challenges," says Kerse.

Centre co-director Dr Tia Reihana says a top priority in planning the renovations was making the cottage safe, accessible and welcoming, so people of all ages can easily participate in research at the centre.

The “heart” of the centre’s work is involving people from across the community as “co-creators” in research that affects them, Reihana says.

“Older people are excluded from a lot of decisions that shape their lives, so it’s important to give them a voice,” says Reihana.

Co-director Dr Joanna Hikaka says tackling ageism – prejudice based on a persons’ age – is one of the centre’s missions.

“We’re trying to combat ageism, which is pretty rife in our society, by focusing on research that raises awareness about the rights and needs of New Zealand's ageing population.

“We also want to involve older people as active partners in our research, to honour and include all the knowledge they have gained over decades,” says Hikaka.

The cottage has a homely feel, to make it more welcoming for older people than conventional university buildings, Hikaka says.

Environmental sustainability has been built into the foundations of the project, which avoided waste from demolition and used less new materials than a new building would have, says centre manager Dr Tamika Simpson.

Composting and growing food will add to the sustainability of the cottage.

The cottage’s garden will be used for growing and research, offering a base for the Keen Gardeners, a group of older people who share gardening knowledge across the generations.

Māori artist Mokonuiarangi Smith has designed a tohu that will feature throughout the building, reflecting the centre’s kaupapa of research and co-creation across generations, says Reihana.

University head of Planning and Development John Carter says the project has broadened his team's thinking about providing spaces that are accessible for people of all ages.

"It's been interesting turning academic knowledge about dementia-friendly design into 3D reality in this lovely old cottage," he says.

Over the past two years, Alzheimer’s NZ, The Village Architect and Lifemark have contributed to the project, along with 23 final-year Engineering and Design students.