swedish furniture giant IKEA has partnered with construction company boklok to launch affordable, flat-pack housing for people suffering with dementia. called ‘silviabo’ homes, the residential sites will include therapeutic gardens and mirror-less bathrooms. other design considerations include kitchen appliances with old-fashioned knobs to improve accessibility, while gardens and clubhouses aim to encourage socializing and time spent outdoors.
the houses have been designed by boklok, a company co-owned by IKEA and swedish construction firm SKANSKA. the IKEA subsidiary started the ‘silviabo’ project in 2015 backed by queen silvia of sweden, its namesake. according to CNN, boklok is in the early stages of launching silviabo in sweden and is starting to talk to local governments about land and zoning.
IKEA hopes it can save the government money with its efforts by catering towards those suffering from the disease which affects up to 25,000 swedes every year. so far, the company has built a small pilot with six apartments just outside stockholm. silviabo also plans to offer a version of its home catered to newly-retired 65-year-olds, with small adjustments and the options to add certain accessibility functions.
project info
company: IKEA
project: silviabo
location: sweden
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Great to see this growing user group helped to great housing. Are you familiar with the Open Building principle of being able to easily update homes to user needs without needed change to the base building? Circular due to follow natural change patterns. https://thematicdesign.org/blog/ shows some of the 40 years of projects I love IKEA and Skanska join to implement.
A good solution for this growing demographic. Old-fashioned appliances and therapeutic gardens are great. Hopefully more colour-contrast is being used in the actual kitchens/interiors, so people with dementia can continue to see end of the rooms and the placement of the furniture.
Queen Silvia of Sweden – just a little correction…
Encouraging to see a scaleable proposition for how we house our ageing selves. There’s going to be a lot of us. To be truly viable post oil-age it needs to have a lot of sustainable resource tech (tech in the loosest sense) embedded in it. Water, gas, waste etc. need to recycled. A few PV panels aren’t going to cut it…
After going through this with family members I find this an excellent solution. Issues like stoves left on, water left on, handles, licks etc… are confusing to those suffering and this thoughtful approach considers this. It’s either this or they move to assisted living at +20,000 a month or with you which In today society is most likely not gonna happen since the family unit has broken down. I think this is a great idea
Two problems with this article
1. Flat pack building or really prefab – cheap construction, not readily adaptable to elderly needs as they get older, length of service of the building 25years.
2. Dementia patients need 24hr supervision – several friends look after loved ones who have been diagnosed and unfortunately two have been admitted to homes, one with violent tendencies. So the article reads as very much a temporary solution until they become too violent or bed ridden.
So to sum up – crap! just another money making con artist scheme
Dementia patients when diagnosed at early stage takes 5-8 years to fully matured or advanced stage. This type of housing can be used but Must be monitored by professional nursing care, Must equipped with lift big enough for wheelchair bound or hospital bed. By 10years most patients may be immobile or gone for good so what’s 25years – presuming is the lease for such buildings- nobody in the working professional will want to stay there unless they’re in the medical professional & could be far from city area.
Hope my personal exposure as caregiver give some idea of how dementia patients felt. This is worst than dead sentence, no dignity or prides & much dependent on the caregivers love for them.
IT looks nice but not for a dementia Pt.–It need more color contrast (way to much light on light) and lighting at first glance.
Also floating shelves not ideal for dementia Pt.–you could use the help of a professional like an Occupational Therapist in making you next dementia facility.
I agree with Paula. Being an Occupational Therapist and the caretaker of my mother with dementia, there are many individualize methods of adaptations and accommodations that benefit this population and their changing needs. I look forward to this developing field.