Love and space in the nursing home.
Nursing homes and other institutions designed for persons with impairments are not, in fact, designed for persons with impairments. They are typically designed for the impairments, not the persons, and thereby become a part of the problem by reinforcing physical and cultural manifestations of the impairments. In the essay that follows, I describe an architectural design project in which students were asked to make changes to an existing nursing home for the persons who lived there. This requires not only becoming familiar with the spaces, but with the persons themselves and designing space to help articulate their voices and being.
Bermann
Karen
K
College of Design, Iowa State University, Ames 50011-3083, USA. kbermann@iastate.edu
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005160:Facility Design and Construction / Q000379:methods*; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000379:methods*; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D005791:Patient Care / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology