Anthony Clarke

When was the last time you visited an aged care facility?

We get it, you’re probably avoiding them at all costs, unless your parents are currently in one.

Chances are you have left one in the past 2 years thinking, “ughhhh, I hope I just die in my sleep, and never end up in one of these.

Look, you're right, some of them have had a spit and polish... they might be neater, cleaner and nicer, but primarily they are the same sterile places with second rate planning.  They don’t address the underlying issues...the issues that can actually start to make a long term difference, not only to the built outcome, but to our general understanding of ageing, and in this particular case, dementia.

What you need to know...

• Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia. 
• More than 400,000 Australians live with dementia.
• It is estimated a further 600,000 people will have dementia by 2056.
• Often people with dementia respond on a sensory level rather than intellectually.
• By 2025 the total cost of dementia is predicted to increase to $18.7 billion in today’s dollars, and by 2056 to over $36.8 billion 
• More than 50% of residents in Australian Government-subsidised aged care facilities have dementia 
• Care facilities are not designed to enrich the lives of people living with dementia, more so care for them.

What is Dementia exactly?

Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in a person’s functioning. It is a broad term used to describe a loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and physical functioning. There are many types of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia and Lewy Body disease.

The Scary Bit....

Dementia can happen to anybody.

There are over 25,000 people right now in Australia with early onset dementia (some as young as 40yo).

Of course it's more common after the age of 65...but not many of us will escape without being touched by dementia.

How does this affect you?

A person living with a diagnosis of dementia, not only lives with a loss of memory, loss of physical functioning, social skills and intellect, but everything you do have  - such as your sight, hearing, and touch is compromised. 

Simple tasks such as going out for a coffee with friends is unbearable because of the way your brain perceives sound...a cacophony of unidentifiable noises in a cafe can send a dementia sufferer into even more disillusionment and confusion than normal. Life becomes lonely, quiet, and like you are trapped in your own mind. You become isolated. 

If you don't end up with dementia, you will witness the heart ache of watching someone navigate it.

A few crisp clean sheets and nicer nursing home meals won't cut it...

...when the sound of the food trolley going past your door sends you into an auditory spin.

You might not want to think about this right now, because, right now you're healthy ...and the reality of having a nursing home shoved in your face is probably a few years off.

But remember how quickly 10 years went from when you were 20-30yo, or the first 10 years of your child's life? 

It’s a blink of an eye. And there you will be, being cared for in a place that wafts with the smell of over cooked broccoli, mixed with the distinct wiff of bleach to cover the urine smells.

But there is an alternate reality...

Imagine walking into a place where you still have your independence. Where an isolating room on a long corridor is not the norm. Now, this is a stretch but for a moment, imagine that your individuality was actually catered for….designed around. Your unique condition, health or illness was designed for, to improve the quality of your life.

Now I’m not saying we know how to do that. I’m not saying we even know what that looks like just yet. But what we are saying is that we would like to dedicate time to finding out, to asking new questions. 

In collaboration with Alzheimer's Australia, Swinburne University, Dementia Training Australia, and through the funded-research conducted by Arup (Acoustic and Theatre consulting), we have a plan.

This October when the Alzheimer's Australia 17th Biennial National Conference descends on Melbourne, at the Melbourne Convention Centre, we want to make a mark. We want to talk about these issues in a new and refreshing way.

We have brought together some of Australia’s foremost dementia thinkers, and Melbourne’s brightest designers, to create an examination into the role that sound plays in the experience of people living with dementia. It is but the first piece of the puzzle to exploring how we might create you a more utopian aged care facility and built environment...not the one you have all too sadly been accustomed to.

Why Us?

As the Principle of BLOXAS, I am dedicated to education, both personally and through my architecture firm. I have spent the last 6 years teaching at several universities throughout Melbourne. I have a curious mind when it comes to how emotions, memory, nostalgia and our sensory perceptions can shape our built environment.

In 2016 I ran a design studio at RMIT University focussing on the role of design in dementia. Following this I was flown to Essen in Germany to take part in a global discussion on Dementia, and to see what the brightest minds in the world were doing in this space. 

Some incredible stories were told, and some truly incredible research was being tested. Following this, and many conversations later, I decided it was time BLOXAS joined the conversation. It was time new questions were asked back here in Australia. I believe it is time for change, time to not only discuss possible alternatives, but to actually start building physical experiments that challenge the current outcomes. I want to give the community a chance to become involved in an issue bigger than any one party.

I approached leaders in varying fields and disciplines,  expressing my passion for making a difference in this space. I am running this entire project through my small practice as a Pro-Bono project. I have not taken the standard approach of seeking government or arts based grants which require a lot of time. Instead I have pounded the pavement,  visiting, calling and discussing at length the endeavour with people I feel are as passionate as I am about testing the new ideas, and exploring change. I am passionate about taking action, not just waiting for someone else to do it. It sounds cliche, but myself and the BLOXAS team (Joseph and Lauren) are just 3 architects, looking to undertake a small project, with a much, much bigger vision.

Your voice and our designs can actually count!

This will be the first of 4 investigations that are going to have a real impact on the design of your future built environment. How do they have a real impact...because Alzheimer's Australia have the ability to feedback this info to the government when they are making policy. And we have the ability to actually make something happen, together, now.

We have the greatest amount of gratitude for the contribution you can make.

..check out the rewards if you feel you need a little more impetus!!

Greatest respect,

Anthony, Joseph, Lauren (BLOXAS team)!

The Funds will be used to create an installation in the Foyer of the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, where the delegates of the National Dementia Conference, and the general public, can experience what it's like to live with dementia through sound.

The aim is:

• To raise Dementia awareness for the public
• To raise awareness of how design impacts people living with dementia for the public as well as architects, designers, landscapers, aged care providers and families.
• To create an experiential interpretation of Designing for Dementia evidence-based principles helping to translate research on dementia design into practice.

This is the first of 4 four installations in context-relevant locations, from late (Oct) 2017 to mid (May) 2019:

INSTALLATION ONE

Location: Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Date: late October 2017, to coincide with Alzheimer's Australia 17th Biennial National Conference. Main Audience: Aged care providers, carers and families, general public
Secondary Audiences: architects, designers
Theme: How sensory awareness through sound affects people living with dementia.

This first project is about exploring sound. What is the auditory experience within an aged care facility, a supermarket, or a city cafe for example for someone living with dementia, and what can we learn? How do you hear a mass of sounds yet be able to distinguish / understand the source of each individual sound? How does someone living with dementia interpret or misinterpret these same sounds?

Through a (potentially) relocatable installation we aim to represent sound visually and aurally not for residents living with dementia but for carers, families and others. We aim to create an experience for each subject that doesn’t replicate how people living with dementia hear sounds but rather creates an understanding that stimulates further research and discussion with a view to improve the quality of life of dementia sufferers in nursing homes and beyond.

Project Collaborators to date, and an unbelievable thank you goes out to:

Prof. Richard Fleming (Dementia Training Australia).

Dr. Tanya Petrovich (Alzheimer's Australia VIC).

ARUP (Nick Boulter, Mhairi Riddet, Ken-Yi Fong).

Dr. Flavia Marcello (Swinburne University).

Alex Earl (Alex Earl).

Russell Field. Russell was Director and Co-founder of explosive media event management for 21 years. Russell was diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy several years ago.

BLOXAS team (Anthony Clarke, Joseph Gauci-Seddon, Lauren Trainor).

We can’t do it without your help.

 If every baby boomer donated $1 we would have $4 million...truth is we only need $30k for this initial project. 

We get that you get door knocked by worthy causes, and you’re likely donating to many things. We also understand that it would be easy to skip this and move on with your day. 

But we ask you to stop.  Just pause and think.

What type of aged care facility do YOU want to live in? What type of built environment can you imagine? Do you want to maintain the ability to have coffee with friends in the city? Do you want to maintain the freedom to catch public transport? Do you want to visit the supermarket more than once a month, and not be terrorised by the auditory impacts?

Because unless you have kids willing to stump up a condo in the backyard, that’s where you will be...for who knows how long.

It’s your reality you're painting here. Invest in the designers that are trying to make it a reality you want to live, and engage with.