Alzheimer's Village
A village designed for people living with
Alzheimer's disease and dementia

The Alzheimer's Village in Dax, France, is an innovative renewal of the traditional nursing home designed specifically for people living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The design is an example of healing architecture and is focused on improving quality of life for a group of people that are going through major life changes.

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The residents live in smaller houses where they are included in as many everyday-life activities as possible. These houses are spread out in the landscape, in which the residents can move independently, freely, and safely.

The village centre has a shop, hairdresser's, restaurant, cultural centre and of course health care facilities  - everything the resident's know and recognise from their previous homes and neighbourhoods.

Four houses create a neighbourhood with its own identity and courtyard. All together there are four neighborhoods connected by an urban street leading up to the village centre. Paths full of experiences and sensory inputs with different characteristics lie as loops in the landscape. They lead through nature and vegetation and provide several ways of staying in close contact with nature.

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The village has also incorporated a research centre and housing for visiting researchers and volunteers aimed to attract global knowledge and resources, which the residents will benefit from.

The Alzheimer's Village in Dax, France, is an innovative renewal of the traditional nursing home for people living with Alzheimer's.