Apex Harmony Lodge – Environmental Transformation of Dementia Day Care Centre and Ground Level Spaces

Project Description

Apex Harmony Lodge (AHL), a dementia care service provider was looking to transform the environment of its Day Care Centre as well as some of it’s other ground level facilities and spaces. Our proposal centred upon the idea of `Environment as (Non-pharmalogical) Intervention’, and to strengthen AHL as a care facility that embodies and supports a strong capability and clear philosophy of care for Persons with Dementia.

Throughout the affected areas, we seek to create familiar and relatable environments and settings that are also comfortable and relaxing.

Our planning and design seek to free the Day Care Centre from the limits we observed had been curtailing its operational and programmatic potential, imbue a sense of place, identity and character to the environment, and a sense of safety and accessibility throughout the grounds of the Centre.

We seek to make the outdoor and open-to-sky spaces usable, inviting and pleasurable to be in, and provide the clients a good measure of interest, engagement and stimulation as they use and move through these spaces. By connecting the indoor and outdoor spaces physically to form a safe, enjoyable and seamless stroll circuit at all times for a much more liberating and expanded spatial experience, we seek to meet the needs of clients who may at some point become inclined to walk and wander.

We see the garden and outdoor spaces as largely untapped areas in the centre where horticultural therapy can blossom. Overall, we seek to bring about an environment that is empowering and self-engaging, one that promotes a sense of independence and well-being and enhance the sense of fulfillment and enjoyment for clients and staff alike.