Environments for Aging - Spring 2017 - 41

ALISE O'BRIEN PHOTOGRAPHY (BATHROOM); SFCS ARCHITECTS (SITE PLAN)

the design team developed a set of guiding
principles focused on elements that foster
aging with integrity; promote resident comfort;
create a sense of safety and security; promote
independence; and nurture the mental, physical,
and emotional health of each resident. For example, to help residents find their way and eliminate confusion, the U-shaped household layout
is designed to minimize corridor lengths and
provide direct visual cueing from the bedrooms
to the common spaces. Additional features that
support resident health include daylight and nature elements, such as a memory garden, views
to the outdoors, and artwork. Staff spaces in
discrete locations allow unobtrusive observation
of household common areas.
Designers limited glazing along the southfacing side of the building and relied on the

environment stand apart from other small house
communities in the country, she saw an opportunity to share preliminary research findings on
how long-term light therapy delivered to people
with dementia has been shown to increase
sleep efficiency and total sleep time, and reduce
agitation and depression. Afterwards, Pritchard
says, she had little trouble convincing them to
incorporate light therapy as part of the design at
The Cottage at Cypress Cove, which opened in
fall 2016.
A tunable circadian lighting system, with a
satellite real time/place solar connection that
reads current weather data, time, and solar
patterns and helps adjust the artificial tunable
lights to balance for the exterior conditions,
was installed in the cove lighting in all common
areas. As a result, residents are exposed to a
changing illumination process 24 hours a day.
Above: The building is designed around a center
service core, which is accessed through a street-facing
residential garage to allow discrete service of each
household and limit the infiltration of noise, clutter, and
institutional artifacts. Corridor lengths were minimized
to provide visual queuing to the residential common
spaces. Right: In the bathrooms, amber night lighting
helps reduce sleep disruptions and potential falls by
helping residents safely navigate their way to the toilet.
Highly visible from the resident sitting and sleeping
area, the room is accessible using a sliding barn door
and has an exterior window for additional natural light.

It was cost-prohibitive to include the system in
resident rooms; however, according to Pritchard,
it could easily be added later by using retrofit
applications such as colored bulbs, applied cove
lighting, or can lighting.
Additional design ideas for the project were
developed during the planning process, which
included visits to six memory care communities across the country as well as 24-hour stays
in memory care communities, which gave the
design team insight into staffing, operations, and
supportive environments for persons living with
dementia. From this intensive research period,

north side of the building to bring in natural
light through the dining and living spaces. An
outdoor courtyard includes a tropical-themed
memory garden with flowers, trees, plants, and
relaxing elements, such as a rain chain waterfall,
rain gardens, dancing water jets, and fountains.
While jurors appreciated many of the design
features within the memory care community,
they say the project provides an important
opportunity for the industry as a whole. "The
design of this project is based upon research
findings and expert opinions, but also offers
opportunities to gather new evidence about
colored lighting as a therapeutic resource for
people with dementia," wrote one juror. "More
projects should be built to test concepts that
can be used to advance the industry."
Pritchard says while The Cottage at Cypress
Cove currently has no plans to research the effects of light therapy on its residents, she hopes
to continue incorporating it into other projects
and measure the results. EFA
Sara O. Marberry is a healthcare design writer,
blogger, and marketing consultant based in Evanston, Ill. She can be reached at sara@saramar
berry.com.

Spring 2017 * EFAmagazine.com

http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Spring 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Environments for Aging - Spring 2017