A landmark national conference in Liverpool will explore how the design of buildings, places and spaces can exclude people with dementia.

As well as affecting the memory, dementia causes problems with how colours, patterns and textures appear so that people with the condition can have difficulties making sense of their surroundings. Better design can help make the environment less frightening and dangerous.

Doing Dementia Design will promote solutions to remove barriers to living well with dementia.

The two day conference, starting on Thursday 14th September, will take place at Liverpool John Moores University’s John Lennon Art and Design Building.

Architects, developers, housing and care professionals, academics, students and local government officers will hear from a wide range of expert speakers and they will work together to produce ideas and proposals for improvements to the way places are designed.

Topics include research into home design, creating dementia-friendly neighbourhoods, government and council policies, latest technological innovations and implications for the arts and business.

People living with dementia and their family carers will play an important part in the programme, relating their own experiences of hazardous and dangerous situations.

A spokesman for organisers Liverpool Dementia Action Alliance said: “This conference will be a challenge and an opportunity for everyone involved in decisions about the design of the built environment and how they affect people living with dementia. We hope it will play a major part in bringing about real change.”

Liverpool John Moores University are hosting and supporting the event.
Other sponsors include Alzheimer’s Society, Kier Construction and Mersey Care NHS Trust.