Lost in Space

How can we provide good spatial orientation for people with dementia? More than 35 million people worldwide currently live with dementia, and the number will double by 2050 according to professional forecasts. This development also presents a unique challenge to architecture and urban planning, because dementia is associated with problems in orientation and, hence, is closely related to spatial contexts. How can apartments, homes, public buildings, outdoor spaces, neighborhoods, and cities, even environmental design and infrastructure be designed, in order to meet the needs of people with dementia as well as their caregivers? What significance do light, color, and acoustics have? Questions such as these are addressed extensively in a selection of professional essays that also carve out specific requirements for various disciplines. Moreover, documentation of various international projects identifies concrete specific solution models. Therefore, this book is a useful guide to all disciplines involved in design and planning: architects, interior designers, engineers, builders, town planners, local authorities, industries-but also to friends and family members.