Fair Close Centre, Newbury
Client: Newbury, West Berkshire
Location: Age Concern Newbury
Status: Technical Design
The Fair Close Centre is a purpose-built facility in the south of Newbury’s town centre. It was opened in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and provides essential aging-well programmes for the older community. The building is brick and designed in the modern style - synonymous with mid-century form.
The centre approached iB Architects to help expand their services and include a dementia respite day care facility. This project aimed to transform an underutilised, large south-facing day-lounge into a dementia-friendly space. The proposed space overlooks a small garden and provides direct external access into the room, it currently is not dementia friendly, and it was felt that a more thoughtful approach could provide a bespoke room to really enrich the experience of the users..
Using research provided by the Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University, a renovation scheme was designed to transform the building into a welcoming safe and friendly space, where people living with dementia can enjoy spending time, engage in various activities, and meet new people – providing much needed respite for their full-time carers.
Specific challenges faced by the design team were centred around the cognitive difficulties faced by those living with dementia. It is important that spaces are homely and familiar, without feeling institutional. Research shows that those living with dementia respond well to things that evoke memories of the time that they were in their prime. Whilst of course this varies, as not everyone with dementia is the same age, the majority of those living with dementia are over the age of 65, so born before 1959 and in their prime in the 1960’s and 1970’s - aligning with the building's original mid-century modern style.
Extraneous furniture and features have been removed to create a calm and inviting space modelled on a domestic living room, with plenty of different ways and places to interact with others or sit quietly alone. Various seating arrangements cater to different interaction preferences, such as a fire-side grouping, a garden view, a high table for coffee and cake, or board games. New specialist lighting from Dextra enhances natural light, minimising shadows and reducing confusion caused by contrasting tones on floor surfaces.
A new pergola forms a covered entrance and exit for drop-offs and pick-ups, with level access for wheelchairs. It also provides a sheltered, safe, and secure spot to sit outside and enjoy the garden, which includes raised planters with herbs for sensory stimulation.
Elsewhere on site the WC’s have been given a make-over, with improvements made to both the fully accessible and the ambulant accessible toilets. Design principles, informed by DSDC research, ensure these spaces are easily navigable and supportive of users' needs. For example, mirrors are covered with curtains to prevent disturbances caused by reflections.
A former outbuilding will be converted into a new office for centre support staff. The renovation includes lining and fully insulating the space with breathable materials to prevent issues such as interstitial condensation, enhancing overall carbon reduction and efficiency on site.
This thoughtful and research-based approach ensures the renovated Fair Close Centre will continue to serve its community effectively, particularly supporting the needs of those living with dementia.