ARAMBH A Cognitive - Friendly Community for Ageing Population.

Abstract

It is a thesis about the design of an integrated palliative care and dementia therapy campus, which would be a continuum of care, including independent and assisted living, a therapy and rehabilitation centre, and a specialized senior-care facility on one site. The project is designed not as a residential complex but as a therapeutic environment-one in which architecture supports healing, dignity, and emotional well-being for ageing individuals and those with cognitive decline. More than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, while there are around 10 million new cases annually (WHO, 2024). Approximately 8.8 million older adults in India suffer from dementia, which is expected to double by 2050. Based in Bengaluru, it faces the challenges of an ageing population and restricted infrastructure for dementia, reflecting urgent needs for integrated, community-based models of care.The proposed design reconstitutes palliative architecture as an agent in therapy itself, with multisensory spaces, areas of reminiscence and occupation, healing gardens, and caregiver respite. Such spatial elements reduce anxiety while offering positive cognitive responses and social interaction. Core to this approach is the notion of "connected care," seamless transition from independence through assisted stages of care to palliative care within a known environment, embracing the philosophy of ageing and healing in place. Among the architectural strategies for clarity, comfort, and connection are clusters at the domestic scale, modulation of natural light, intuitive wayfinding, and restorative outdoor spaces that banish sterility from institutional settings. This project positions architecture as a non-pharmacological mode of care by encouraging intergenerational engagement and sensory participation, catalyzing dignity, empathy, and quality of life. It ultimately contends that sensitive design can transcend mere shelter to a palliative tool, linking physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. It does so by developing a compassionate model for dementia-friendly and end-of-life care that responds to the emergent needs of Indian metropolises like Bengaluru.