The dementia village Carpe Diem is located on Dønski in Bærum. The client is Bærum Municipality and the turnkey contractor is HENT. The Norwegian pilot project has taken inspiration from a Dutch institution called De Hogeweyk. Bærum Municipality has developed a separate model that is adapted to Norwegian culture and lifestyle.
The supplier of rock wool ceilings, Rockfon, has delivered approx. 7400 square meters with acoustic solutions for the project. Oslo Bygginnredning has been responsible for delivery and installation.
Improved quality of life with a homely atmosphere
Carpe Diem is about giving people with dementia as normal a life as possible. Therefore, great emphasis has been placed on the surroundings, both outdoors and indoors. Project manager in HENT, Svein Magnus Haaland, says:
- The dementia village consists of large outdoor areas, several activity rooms, sensory experiences, a pub, a hairdresser and a shop. There is also a cafe in the village where residents can socialize with people who do not live in Carpe Diem. Everything in the village has been made with the intention of creating the best environment for people with dementia.
Haaland continues and says that the sound environment is important in Carpe Diem because it is a care home:
- A care home has much stricter requirements for sound than a private home, for example. It often requires the use of a system ceiling that does not necessarily create the most homely expression. And continues:
- Fortunately, it was solved with the Mono ceiling from Rockfon which gave the aesthetic expression we wanted, while living up to expectations of sound properties. With the smooth surface and the flexible material, we got the desired look. The acoustic solution Mono has been used in all living rooms and living rooms, which ensures that it looks more like a home than an institution.
Puts the residents in the center
Steinar Nygård, District Manager in Rockfon, is impressed with Carpe Diem:
- The village is the first of its kind in Norway, and it has been exciting to follow the project all the way. Carpe Diem puts people at the center and creates a healthy life where the residents thrive. We work actively with this in Rockfon and we are proud to be a supplier for this unique project.
Haaland concludes and says that they are very happy with the ceilings from Rockfon:
- Rockfon has great competence and has been solution-oriented during the design. It was very important to us that the rooms should not be too institutional.
Carpe Diem was completed in June 2020. So far, a group of residents have moved in, and the rest of the move has been delayed due to the corona pandemic.
