The Exchange #19 Designing For Dementia

On Monday 16 March 2026, NTB hosted workshop #19 Designing for Dementia in collaboration with We Are The People at Bath Spa University’s Newton Park Campus.

This session brought together the We Are The People research team at Bath Spa University and Reminiscence Learning to explore how designers could better support people living with dementia within the design of the built environment.

The session began with Dementia Awareness training from Reminiscence Learning, grounding attendees in the everyday experiences of people living with dementia and providing insight into the daily challenges they faced when engaging with environments that had not been designed with their needs in mind. The We Are The People team then shared insights from their co-production research in Wellington, exploring what made a place dementia-inclusive and approaches designers can take to meaningfully engage people with dementia in their design processes.  After lunch, participants put these ideas into practice through a collaborative workshop, tackling dementia-related design challenges and developing practical, inclusive solutions together.

Agenda

09:30 | Welcome & refreshments
09:45 | Intros & NTB updates
10:00 | Dementia Awareness | Reminiscence Learning
10:45 | Break
11:00 | What Makes Wellington Dementia-Inclusive | Bath Spa University
11:20 | Involving People with Dementia in Design | Bath Spa University
11:40 | Dementia Accessibility Audits | Bristol Dementia Action Alliance
12:00 | Lunch
13:00 | Workshop: Designing For Dementia
14:30 | Workshop Close