Village Christian Park Retirement Home of Zionsville, Indiana : designing outdoor spaces for those affected with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

This project explores the design of outdoor spaces tailored specifically for those individuals with Alzheimer's disease and attempts to create design guidelines and design solutions for facilities that treat Alzheimer's patients. One of the key issues addressed is that of stage-specific design and how horticultural ideas and activities can be equated to a persons physical and mental ability at each of three stages of the disease.The goal of this project was to design three outdoor gardens that represent each stage of the disease on the grounds of the Village Christian Retirement Home in Zionsville, Indiana. The site has not been developed for outdoor use.