Site Gallery - Neighbourhood
Laurieston Existing Site - Adele Melas
Today the site exists as a Transformational Regenerational Area (TRA), marked as ‘Laurieston Living’. Currently, the housing development is towards the end of Phase 2. Adjoining with the initial concept, the wider site of Laurieston Living is enveloped by various crosses, including Gorbals Cross and St. Andrews Cross, which help increase opportunity for dementia-friendly outdoor environments. The Dementia-Friendly Neighbourhood (DFN) proposal aspires to integrate with future plans in Phase 3. Ultimately, this fusion would reinforce a Neighbourhood For Life (NFL) concept; a key component to creating inclusive environments (Mitchell et al., 2010).
DFN Physical & Social Criteria - Adele Melas
Findings from Mitchell and Burton, the key pioneers in the field of dementia-friendly neighbourhood research, have distinguished six principles which should constitute a DFN: safety, accessibility, distinctiveness, legibility, comfort, and familiarity (Mitchell et al., 2010). However, these factors focus primarily on the physical environment of a neighbourhood. Thus, for the environment to play a more holistic role in managing and preventing dementia, social factors such as safety, engagement, choice, sympathy, and inclusiveness, are proposed to accompany the existing, physically orientated set of criteria.
DFN Proposed Buildings - Adele Melas
The DFN masterplan proposal includes the following buildings: Primary Shops, Secondary Shops, Community Centre, Kiosk Wardens, Moderate Dementia Housing (Level 2), Severe Dementia Housing (Level 3), Medical and Health Centre, Admin Offices, Children's Nursery, and Public Toilets.
D. High Street - Adele Melas
The High Street is a prominent feature of the dementia-friendly neighbourhood and is key to enhancing factors including normality, accessibility and inclusiveness. In an attempt to capture a sense of normality for residents, many care homes have often implemented false interpretations of streets in their design - many times as internal elements, which are not functional but simply stand as inactive façades. The ethos of the High Street is to ensure the façades and use of specific shops are legible and distinct, which is achieved through distinguished colour use, clear signs, and bringing shop activity beyond the facade where possible. With time and recurring exposure, familiarity of the shops will increase. In accordance with the fundamental needs of users in terms of services and shops, the DFN proposal provides a range of primary and secondary facilities; 500m-800m from level 2 and 3 dementia housing.
A. Entrance Buffer - Adele Melas
To avoid the implementation of a gated community, and strike a balance between safety and freedom, Entrance Buffer zones are located at the five entrance points of the neighbourhood, the majority of which are converted into green communal spaces. On the one hand, this allows social safety to be enforced and on the one hand and physical safety as green zones act as natural separators and means of slowing down the pace of movement. Importantly, accompanying each buffer is a Kiosk, which range from newspaper to coffee and flower stalls, and serve as discrete and functionally camouflaged security wardens. Hence, staff responsible for each kiosk have a dual role - to serve goods and act as security wardens for vulnerable individuals approaching these entrance/exit zones.
C. Cross - Adele Melas
As a common characteristic of crosses over time, both in history and in the present, a tall clock-tower is placed to mark the centre of the Laurieston Cross. This functions as a prominent landmark for orientation in the masterplan as it is visible from all parts of the neighbourhood. The streets in each bearing meet the cross as a market, forming a vibrant and active dwelling and transition zone, and further emphasising the literal shape of a cross across the site. The roofs over the markets exposed to the High Street (north and west wing) are structured in as rigid rippled effect, symbolising
the rhythm and pattern of individuals shops in the High Street facade, whose life can be continued onto the streets.
DFN Masterplan Zones - Adele Melas
The DFN Masterplan incorporates the following Zones: Entrance Buffers (A), Streets (B), Cross (C), High Street (D), Severe Dementia Housing (E), Moderate Dementia Housing (F), Community Centre (G)
The Cross Concept - Adele Melas
Crosses are conceptually chosen as the ideal settings to accommodate the Dementia Friendly Neighbourhood. Being vibrant in character and centralised in location, they offers individuals with dementia the opportunity to continue life as normal, participate actively and integrate with society. Often stemming into high streets, they increase accessibility and safety between homes and primary services, which heightens independence and confidence. Vitaly, they facilitate the creation of a ‘walkable zone of experience’ for individuals with dementia (Blackman, 2006).
B. Street - Adele Melas
All Entrance Buffers, besides the west wing, stem into streets which meet at the heart of the dementia-friendly neighbourhood - the Cross. The Streets are fully pedestrianised and are vibrant with life, both as transitional zones and dwelling points. As explained in the criteria, these are divided in accordance with the colour of the paving - red implying the former and yellow the latter. Similarly to landmarks, familiarity of their use is gained with time, particularly through the eyes of dementia-users. This allows the use of outdoor environments to be sustained as dementia-friendly, for instance as pedestrian paths are maintained unobstructed, wide, and directional.
