A Comparative Study On The Spatial Design Of Senior Care Facilities For The Aged With Dementia Between China And The United States

Under the background of the increasing aging of Chinese society,the research and construction of elderly care facilities have been developing rapidly.However,the special group of the elderly,the elderly with dementia,has been neglected.The space of the care facilities for the elderly with dementia can not be designed professionally.The design specifications of the care facilities for the elderly with dementia are not detailed enough.The architects also lack the experience in space design of the facilities for the elderly with dementia.This paper takes the spatial design of the dementia unit in the elderly care facilities as the research object,and studies from the following aspects:First of all,this paper makes a comparative study on the space design norms of elderly care facilities between China and the United States.Based on the analysis of the evolution of Chinese and American norms of care facilities for the elderly,and the horizontal comparison between the two norms,this paper puts forward suggestions on the spatial design of care facilities for the elderly with dementia in China,and lays a foundation for the spatial design of care units for the elderly with dementia in the following article.Secondly,this paper reviews the construction and development of care facilities and care units for the mentally retarded elderly in the United States since the 1950 s,and summarizes the spatial organization mode of care units for the mentally retarded at different stages.This paper points out that in the 1950 s,from the "mental hospital" model focusing on "medical efficiency" to the "special care unit for the dementia"(SCU),the "assisted living" model emphasizing "home atmosphere" was further developed to the "memory care unit" which further emphasizes the spiritual and emotional needs of the elderly.Then,the paper studies the current situation of the elderly with dementia in China based on the actual cases.The research shows that most of the care facilities for the elderly with dementia in China are still in the design mode of "mental hospital" and the mode of ordinary elderly care facilities,and a small part of them are in the mode of "special care unit for the elderly with dementia(SCU)" facilities.On this basis,the paper compares the cases of elderly care facilities between China and the United States,and puts forward some suggestions on the spatial design and construction of elderly care facilities for the dementia in China.Finally,combined with the engineering practice,the research conclusions of this paper are applied to the design of dementia unit in Linyi health care nursing center,and further verified in practice.