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normalcy beyond diagnosis

normalcy beyond diagnosis

masterplan: reworking the existing block

masterplan: reworking the existing block

plan: residents with dementia living with partner

plan: residents with dementia living with partner

plan: residents with dementia shared living

plan: residents with dementia shared living

deep window seat

deep window seat

19 caroline street facade

19 caroline street facade

in ordinary life (*all in lowercase)

Dementia presents a growing spatial challenge, yet care environments remain dominated by institutional models that disconnect people from everyday life. In Ordinary Life asks: what if care meant deepening the ordinary rather than relocating it? The thesis proposes a neighbourhood-based framework where dementia is supported within familiar domestic and civic settings. Through reworked thresholds, communal backstreets, and small-scale spatial cues, colour, planting, gardens, and courtyards, care becomes embedded in the rhythms of daily life. The project operates across immediate and future needs, positioning architecture as a rehearsal for living well with cognitive aging, and advocating continuity over containment.

Isabelle Kim

in ordinary life (*all in lowercase)

Dementia presents a growing spatial challenge, yet care environments remain dominated by institutional models that disconnect people from everyday life. In Ordinary Life asks: what if care meant deepening the ordinary rather than relocating it? The thesis proposes a neighbourhood-based framework where dementia is supported within familiar domestic and civic settings. Through reworked thresholds, communal backstreets, and small-scale spatial cues, colour, planting, gardens, and courtyards, care becomes embedded in the rhythms of daily life. The project operates across immediate and future needs, positioning architecture as a rehearsal for living well with cognitive aging, and advocating continuity over containment.

Isabelle Kim