Third Age Design

There can be no greater honour for a designer than to design the final places in which people someone will spend the final hours of their lives; the space in which family and friends will recall their final moments with their loved one. Lori speaks with Professor Emeritus Paul Eshelman, of Cornell University in the United States, about important criteria for design in these environments, as well as laying down challenges for the next generation of design professionals.

Are you aware that vinyl flooring could be considered a sustainable material? That designs have been produced specifically for people with dementia? Join Lori and her guest, Shaz Hawkins, of Tarkett, in Part 2 of our series on game changing flooring solutions. You’ll also learn about the importance of neuro-divergent flooring considerations as part of human-conscious design principles.

Operators around the world are looking for an extra edge with which to compete in the increasingly crowded senior living sector. From multiple restaurant offers, to resident volunteers, this month you’ll find out how one operator in the United States has developed an atmosphere akin to a cruise ship – with high levels of staff retention and a community of vibrant and engaged residents – in part by challenging standard norms of space allocation.

Our 'World Series of Design' continues with an insider's view of a unique dementia village in France, where extensive research is underway as to how living a life of seemingly unfettered freedom in a safe environment is being tested against medication levels, depression, and anxiety. You’ll discover how interaction with the landscape, personal possessions, and the use of light and dark in design principles is creating a dynamic new model in dementia care environments.

Once a year we take the opportunity to highlight some our most important content. This is essential listening and we are pleased to re-release our interview with Colin Milner. Enjoy!

Buildings need to be designed with a purpose in mind, but the people using them also need purpose. In this episode, the Founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging joins Lori to review health, wellbeing, and purpose in senior living and how we can facilitate these goals in the environments we design.

Our "World Series of Design" continues this month with a fascinating project in Iceland developed specifically for residents with dementia. It’s all in the unique geometry of this project and Lori’s guest Gudmundur Gunnarsson from Urban Arkitektar in Rekjavik explains how he made what appears to be a complicated building rather straight-forward and easy to construct. The resulting building has many benefits to everyone in the facility, with a focus on the views, natural local materials, and clever but subtle wayfinding strategies.

This month we begin an important new series: "The World Series of Design"! We start by reviewing some intriguing new features of a Retirement Village which is scheduled to open later this year in South Africa: Great Oaks. When they say they offer ‘Aging in Place,' they mean it. Listen to find out how this is being delivered through design. Why is there a specific Ladies Bar (don’t men also drink in South Africa)? You’ll hear about facilities discussed here that you’re unlikely to have encountered anywhere else and may want to make note of!

What do we mean by the terms "sustainability" and "green design?" In a sector with a history of lagging behind other areas of design and architecture, how can developers, architects and designers of care and retirement facilities finally move out in front? Join Lori and her guest, Danny Sharpe, of the Northstar Projects Consultancy, to explore these issues. Also in this month’s Innovation Spotlight, we’ll review an in-depth sustainability policy from the supply chain side.

Research indicates that pets have important health benefits, including improved mood, lower blood pressure, increased exercise and the reduction in stress. But, if housing and/or caring for seniors, do these benefits outweigh any risks, and how might these be reduced by getting both the offer and the environment itself correct? This month, Lori is joined by three expert guests from the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, to shed light on this often neglected, yet very important subject.

In the concluding episode of our mini-series: Designing for the Other Four Senses, Lori Pinkerton-Rolet speaks with the Director of Namaste Care International, Rishi Jawaheer, about the importance of ‘touch’ in a care or dementia environment.  Rishi explains what Namaste Care is…and how to facilitate its practice within an existing environment.  And, in our Innovation Spotlight, we discover how a piece of furniture can also be a sensory experience…and it isn’t a massage chair!

Continuing our series, Designing for the Other Four Senses, Lori speaks with the international award-winning Director of The Drawing Room Interiors, Diana Celella, about taste.  Not the ‘good taste’ of a designer or architect, but the way in which interiors can have an impact on health by encouraging appetite. In a follow-up to a previous Innovation Spotlight, we also speak with Salutem Care and Education CEO, John Godden, about the day he switched jobs with a carer and the way it changed his perceptions on needs within the care environment.

If someone asked you to describe the smell of a nursing home, what would be the first thing to pop into your head? One common answer is bleach, but it’s more likely that incontinence smells spring to mind. In part 2 of our mini-series, Designing for the Other Four Senses, Lori speaks with Roger Bensinger from Prolitec, US purveyors of scent systems and odor remediation. He explains why unpleasant smells are absolutely not inevitable. Whether your interest is in care, or senior living generally, this is an important topic for everyone involved in the development of facilities for older people.

As architects and designers, we're trained to think about the way the spaces we design look. However, the majority of people have five senses. This month we begin a special 4-part series: Designing for the Other Four Senses. 

In Part 1, we look at the impact of acoustics on senior living environments with expert Nick Treby, Associate Director of Spectrum Acoustic Consultants in the UK, who has projects located all over the world. You’ll discover new ideas for designing acoustically comfortable, functional spaces in this essential episode.

If you’re looking for clear and concise answers to the challenges of dementia design for your home, retirement, or care environments, you’ll find this podcast episode an informational gold mine. Join Lori and her guest, Dr. Jungie Huang, for an in-depth review of the University of Stirling’s Environments for Ageing and Dementia Design Assessment Tool (EADDAT).  This episode is essential listening for anyone living with, designing for, or working with people with dementia.

Each month, the TAD podcast features a short segment which we call our ‘Innovation Spotlight.’ These brief interviews highlight the most exciting international innovations in the senior living sector, and this month we highlight our favourite, cutting-edge initiatives of 2022...those which we believe will have the biggest impact in care and dementia environments, and some which will undoubtedly add to the facilities being offered for retirement living.

This month our guest is a pioneer in Clinical Sociology, Dr.  Christopher Johnson of Texas State University in the United States. Listen and discover why Alzheimer’s disease is not a linear decline but a  series of ‘time loops’ and how we can design spaces which respect the individuality of each resident.

While TAD shares information to improve senior environments via our podcast, this month’s focus is with a team who facilitate global in-person learning. Join us to discover unique lessons from around the world via the unique Sage Tours programme out of Australia.

There’s a buzz about Co-housing in the media in several countries, but what exactly does this model really deliver for Seniors?  If you are involved in any type Senior Living or Care facility, this interview will challenge pre-conceptions and suggest considerations which offer lifestyle advantages worth serious consideration.

This month's resources:

Buildings need to be designed with a purpose in mind, but the people using them also need purpose. In this episode, the Founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, Colin Milner, joins Lori to review health, wellbeing, and purpose in senior living...and how we can facilitate these goals in the environments we design.

This month's resources:

The design of senior living environments is changing and more stakeholders are involved in their development. Expert designer, Melinda Avila-Torio, from THW Design in Atlanta, Georgia, shares her tips for bringing this diverse team together in addition to reviewing intergenerational "campus" concepts which can touch an entire community. 

What is it like to be a sole carer for someone diagnosed with dementia? 

This month, Third Age Design breaks away from our usual format for a special edition, in which a full-time, at-home carer in the United States reflects on her altered life and relationship, with additional comments from Clinics Admiral Nurse, Sheridan Coker, in the United Kingdom. This issue knows no national boundaries. If you work in a residential care environment, or design these facilities join us for insight into some of the challenges which can lead to people seeking residential care for their loved ones. 

We’ll also be sharing some home safety ideas for the home.

An expert in accessibility and inclusive design, our guest this month is Ed Warner, Founder of Motionspot in the United Kingdom, where he also serves as Sector Champion for the design of spaces and products for the UK government. We focus on the trickiest design challenge for the Third Age, and an area in which seldom gets the aesthetic attention it deserves….bathrooms!

Our guest this month is an internationally renowned authority on healthcare and has advised governments in six different countries. Professor Sir Muir Gray says that the ageing process by itself does not cause major health problems until after age of ninety. Join us for a discussion on our expectations of ageing, and how design can assist in keeping us healthy if we better understand the true requirements of ageing. It’s not what you think!

In her doctoral thesis, Dr. Anne Fleming explores international research in order to develop an ideology of a "homelike place to live." What does and what does not indicate a sense of meaning in the environments of older people? Whether your interest is in retirement communities, care or dementia, you'll hear an international overview of the available research into this timeless topic.

What is "emotional intelligence," and how does it differ from "person-centred care?" What is its potential impact on the design of care facilities and their interiors? In this episode, we hear from internationally renowned dementia care expert, author, film maker and motivational speaker, Dr. David Sheard, the UK’s first professor of Emotional Intelligence in Care.

An internationally respected author, film maker and motivational speaker, David Sheard has won multiple international awards for his work on establishing a revolutionary model of dementia care. His person-centred ethos has challenged accepted modes of care and brought about positive change around the world. 

The United States has 4.2% of the world’s population but 10% of worldwide dementia cases. This month we speak with experts at the Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation in Florida, a state where nearly one-third of the population are elderly and where award-winning support solutions have been developed to allow people to continue to live in their own home.

The UK’s Richmond Villages Willaston project won Best Care Design in the 2021 Leaders In Care Awards. In this episode you’ll hear why this innovative project was based on a model first pioneered in the Netherlands and where and why they shifted the parameters into very small group living in the United Kingdom. A compelling session with the Managing Director of Richmond Villages, Philippa Fieldhouse.

What are the trends for dementia care and support for care for an aging population? This month Third Age Design is recorded live from the floor of the Care Show 2021 in Birmingham, England, where we've been discussing issues including the impact of environment on staffing, care integration into the community and significant technological innovations in dementia support.

Have you ever met someone who doesn’t age? London, England’s Royal College of Art, in conjunction with government sponsored Research England, are helping to take products and design ideas to market which will help us all. Get a preview of some of these projects as well as ways in which you can get involved in this stimulating half-hour.

Did you know that new build projects and refurbishments are quite different in: methodology, risk, procedure and outcome? Listen to expert Paul Fennell, Managing Director at Fed3 Refurbishments, compare both project types and advise on the coordination you’ll need to produce an outstanding refurbishment.

This episode is devoted to design for dementia with a review of the FRIEDA model of dementia principles with expert Alex Fleming, and how it relates to care facility interiors. Practical examples of how to apply theoretical principles to design implementation are discussed. Tribute is also paid to a unique care project which won a Design Award for Best Specialist Dementia Design.

Not everyone aging will move into specially designed retirement living accommodation or some of the splendid new care facilities being built around the world.  In this episode Lori speaks to Master Builder and Certified Aging in Place Specialist, Vince Butler, to review important considerations for making an existing home suitable for homeowners to age safely within it.

A comparison of design considerations between the US and UK, touching on the response in new builds resulting from the pandemic and what constitutes the best home size for both residents and operators.

The impact of design awards extends well past PR opportunities. Join Lori Pinkerton-Rolet and her guest, Jon Chapman, of Pinder’s and host of the Healthcare Design Awards, to explore the way in which awards have affected the quality of care design...and to discuss the next challenges.

A lot of research has been conducted over the past decade  on the positive affect of biophilic design and sustainability. Join Lori  for an in-depth talk with one of the UK’s top independent green design  consultants to find out why these principles are so very important to  the health and wellbeing of people in the Third Age.

Technology changes as quickly as CQC requirements! Keep up to date on what’s new and upcoming in innovative technology for care and retirement facilities. Many of these products provide extra safety for vulnerable residents and some you’ll wish you’d already enquired about.

Top consultant David Driscoll of Driscoll Consultants joins Lori Pinkerton-Rolet for an overview of the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the UK care and retirement sector, as well as his forecast for the future of the sector. A riveting review for all stakeholders in this growing marketplace.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a particularly cruel impact on the residents and staff of care facilities, and their families. Design guru Charles Leon, of Leon Black, joins Lori Pinkerton-Rolet to delve into how interior interventions can assist in meeting this international challenge.