Project Description: As dementia rates rise across aging populations, the demand for high-quality memory care housing has reached a critical level—particularly in rural America. Over 6 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, a number projected to more than double by 2060, intensifying the need for supportive care housing infrastructure. Rural communities face disproportionate challenges: nearly 60% of older adults in these areas lack access to specialized memory care services, and many regions are experiencing care facilities shortage. This shortage, combined with higher health risks and limited healthcare access, underscores the urgency for innovative, place-based memory care housing solutions.

Forget Me Not Memory Care Housing, proposed in Hays, Kansas by four Graduate Students Hailey Krueger, Kaitlyn Meseke, Kenna Hibbs and Rebecca Greene in Interior Architecture Capstone Studio led by Professor Vibhavari Jani, responds to these gaps by reimagining memory care as a holistic, human-centered environment. Traditional memory care housing facilities are often institutional, disorienting, and socially isolating conditions that can exacerbate cognitive decline, anxiety, and depression. In contrast, this project prioritizes dignity, familiarity, and emotional well-being through evidence-based and biophilic design strategies. The design team renovated an old senior care facility to develop a new model for this memory care housing.

Central to the design is the integration of nature and sustainable strategies, recognizing the restorative impact of natural light, vegetation, and seasonal rhythms on cognitive health. Strong indoor-outdoor connections, access to gardens, and environmentally responsive design elements support both ecological responsibility and therapeutic benefit. Equally
important is the emphasis on social connection: carefully designed communal spaces foster interaction, reduce
isolation, and help residents maintain a sense of identity and belonging—critical factors in slowing cognitive decline.
Clear wayfinding, intuitive spatial organization, and safe circulation paths promote independence while reducing confusion and stress. The environment is structured to support both autonomy and gentle guidance, allowing residents to navigate spaces with confidence. Introducing unique feature like connecting nursing students from the community
college to work and reside with the residents, inviting community Park visitor to visit with the memory care residents,
providing on campus family and traveling staff apartments, incorporating local artists’ murals, art on the walls and
Sculptures in the gardens, utilizing sustainable strategies from solar panels installation to rain water collection, prioritizing connection—to nature, to community, and to self—Forget Me Not Memory Care Housing offers a forward-thinking
model that enhances quality of life while responding to an urgent and growing societal need.