October saw the completion of Pentan Partnership’s first care home for Cardiff-based Hafod Care Association. The Caerphilly development will provide residential care facilities for 75 people in need of high-levels of care – 60 beds for the elderly (in 10-bedrooms cluster units) and 15 bed-sits for younger people with physical disabilities. The creation of a dementia-friendly environment was our starting point in designing the 60-beds for the elderly, with all of their accommodation arranged around a top-lit arcade, to create a sheltered and meaningful wandering space for residents and a meeting place for visitors. Our thanks to the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling, for inspiration on designing for dementia. We will be re-visiting the development at intervals over the next year to obtain feed-back, to learn lessons for future projects.
