Uniting Art, Design, and Care in Dementia-Inclusive Gardens
Apex Harmony Lodge (AHL), Singapore’s first purpose-built dementia nursing home, partnered with NYP to enhance its garden, creating a more engaging and therapeutic environment that fosters meaningful experiences for residents living with dementia.
Drawing upon their extensive expertise and experience, our School of Health & Social Sciences first shared valuable insights on managing the well-being of persons living with dementia, and recommended incorporating therapeutic elements of nature, sensory stimulation, and ease of navigation in a garden.
Recognising that designing an effective therapeutic garden has to be interdisciplinary, the school collaborated with the School of Design & Media to propose a visually captivating and therapeutically beneficial garden design. With careful consideration of the unique needs of persons living with dementia, the team ensured that the proposed design would be safe and welcoming for exploration and engagement. The guidance and recommendation came from a book authored by Dr Wan-Koo May Yeok, who specialises in the field of dementia care.
AHL has collaborated with various partners to transform the garden progressively, which is a focal point of daily activities at the lodge. Gaining inspiration from NYP’s recommendations, AHL has incorporated carefully selected sensory elements, such as using contrasting colours on the finger maze and benches, as well as adding wayfinding signage to help with navigation.
AHL has also enhanced some of the existing garden features such as the placement of imitation animals to promote a more therapeutic atmosphere and foster active communication among the residents and with their loved ones.
As a result, more than 100 of AHL's residents benefitted from the garden's transformation. Moreover, the exposure generated by the project contributed to making the staff and students of NYP more future-ready in designing elderly and dementia-inclusive environment which is vital to the nation’s synergistic efforts in enhancing community care.
Ms. Kok Kah Wei, Deputy CEO of Apex Harmony Lodge shared,
"We appreciate the efforts by Dr. Koo. In addition to giving us ideas, she also mobilised NYP students to help add colour to the finger maze and prepare way-finding signages in contrasting colours. These have certainly contributed to the vibrancy of the garden."
Inspired by the success of the project, St John Singapore has also collaborated with our schools to design an elderly and dementia-inclusive therapeutic garden and dementia day care centre for their clients and caregivers – positively impacting the lives of many more persons living with dementia.
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