Iris Van Steenwinkel

Postdoctoral researcher, University of Leuven•Belgium

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Areas of interest: Built Environment Research

Iris Van Steenwinkel is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Architecture at the University of Leuven, Belgium (KU Leuven). She is part of Research[x]Design, an interdisciplinary team of architects/designers, industrial engineers, sociologists/anthropologists and historians. In June 2015, she was awarded a PhD. Its title is 'Offering Architects Insights into Living with Dementia: Three Case Studies on Orientation in Space-time-identity'. She is interested in the architecture of residential buildings and environments. Through an architectural and anthropological approach she studies meanings and practices within architecture as the frame for residents' everyday lives. For her master thesis, which she finished in 2010, she explored which architectural elements contribute to making a house into a home in the context of housing for older people. Through her PhD research she gave voice to people with dementia and provided insights into their experiences in a format that allows architects to develop affinity with their perspective.

Spatial Clues for Orientation

The physical environment holds great potential to improve the well-being of people with dementia when designed appropriately. However, when designing environments for them, architects are faced with a lack of adequate design knowledge. Van Steenwinkel, I., Van Audenhove, C., Heylighen, A. (2012). Spatial Clues for Orientation: Architectural Design Meets People with Dementia. In: Langdon P., Clarkson P., Robinson P., Lazar J., Heylighen A. (Eds.), Designing Inclusive Systems, Chapt.23. London: Springer-Verlag, 227-236.

Home in later life

With the growing number of older people, architects face the challenge of designing appropriate residential environments for current and future generations of older people. Too often they live in houses that are not adjusted to their needs and desires, with few spatial and social qualities of a real home. Amongst architects and professional care givers awareness grows of the importance of 'feeling at home' in residential and care environments, rather than just meeting basic needs like food, shelter and medical care. Van Steenwinkel, I., Baumers, S., Heylighen, A. (2012). Home in later life: A framework for the architecture of home environments. Home Cultures, 9 (2), 195-217.

Mary’s Little Worlds

With the case study presented in this article we explore how people with dementia experience and use their environment to expand our understanding of how architectural environments can improve their well-being. We focus on how relationships between people and spaces change for people with dementia. Iris Van Steenwinkel, Chantal Van Audenhove and Ann Heylighen, Mary's Little Worlds: Changing Person−Space Relationships When Living With Dementia Qual Health Res (published online 11 July 2014) DOI: 10.1177/1049732314542808.

Actua-Zorg: Architectuur voor personen met dementie (DUTCH)

Ingenieur-architect Iris Van Steenwinkel wil de blik op architectuur voor personen met dementie verruimen. De idee dat deze mensen vooral nood hebben aan een nostalgische woning vol met meubels en tierlantijntjes uit vroegere tijden is achterhaald. Kwaliteiten van hedendaagse architectuur, zoals licht en ruimte of de link met buiten, gelden ook en in het bijzonder voor mensen met dementie. Op woensdag 10 juni verdedigde Iris Van Steenwinkel haar doctoraat aan de KU Leuven dat werd opgebouwd rond drie sprekende casestudies. Voor Actua Zorg doet ze haar voornaamste inzichten uit de doeken.