Rules for Comfort

Over the next few weeks, SAGE will be presenting excerpts from Professor JoAnn Shroyer’s investigative journey. Participating in this study were Grace Presbyterian Village, Dallas, Texas, and James L. West Alzheimer’s Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
Comfort is one characteristic that designers and care providers strive to obtain when designing facilities for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  For the designer, comfort in the built environment is a nebulous term that suggests the need for a clear definition.  Comfort is not the only factor to be considered, but it should be achieved when the environment is appropriately designed to positively impact the individual or individuals who live in the Alzheimer’s special care environment.  These facilities should meet special needs and – most importantly – preserve human dignity, which is critical to a resident’s well-being. Comfort in the special care environment is a product, as well as a continuing process of planning and problem-solving accomplished through the conscious, systematic and functional application of selected elements and systems of design. All these aspects must come together to create a comfortable and functional physical environment. Design can be thought of as an intersection between comfort and the individual diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.   

Because the realities of personal comfort in all dimensions are defined by previous personal experiences, the desired levels of individual comfort are affected by different life stages.  Designing serene environments provides a sense of comfort and serenity, as well as a sense of safety for Alzheimer’s patients.  The aspects of the built environment that can provide comfort are articulated by design elements (space, line, shape, form, texture, color and light); principles (balance, rhythm, emphasis, proportion, scale, unity, harmony and variety); and systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, acoustics and security). Since the primary goal of both designers and providers (institutional and noninstitutional, paid and unpaid) is to provide comfort and care for the individual diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, these elements, principles and systems of design cannot be used separately. Instead, they must be built precept upon precept to provide comfort. In this paper, these precepts are called, “comfort rules.”  The rules proposed in this report are researched conclusions and are not all-inclusive, so they should be considered basic guidelines, which can be expanded as new information is learned.  Also, in the reference section of the paper, other sources of information are included for further study and use.