Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Inside the framework of Non Pharmacological Therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, the environment can be an important support in the care process, as it can lessen behavioural disturbances. Furthermore, Reminiscence Therapy in care home design proved to be effective in helping residents to feel more familiar with the environment they are living in. Nostalgia is defined as “a longing for things, persons or situations that are not present or a longing for a perceived utopian past”. Even though reminiscence and nostalgia are strongly related, there is one relevant distinctness: on one hand, reminiscing past events is connected with the act of “remembering” but can be dissociated from evoking any feeling; on the other hand nostalgic remembrance is deeply associated with feelings, adding a sentimental component, through which an increased self-esteem can be triggered. Applying this approach to dementia care may enable us to reframe the use of memories to generate new methods of intervening on/in the interiors, suggesting a therapeutic use of nostalgia in the development of environmental solutions for dementia care units. Moreover, a wide variety of external stimuli (such as objects, sounds, images) can trigger nostalgic recollection due to their affective intrinsic qualities, widening the horizon to different innovative ways of engaging with people with dementia. Thus, there are strong evidences that led us to consider nostalgia as the active component of therapeutic success in Reminiscence Therapy in care home design, as described in this on-going study for a day-care center for dementia in Milan.