Sanctuary Care backs design innovation

For the third consecutive year leading UK care provider Sanctuary Care is proud sponsor of the prestigious DBA (Design Business Association) Inclusive Design Challenge.

Now in its tenth year the competition, described by the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones as the “combined Oscars and Olympics of Inclusive Design”, was launched by the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre in London, in collaboration with the Design Business Association in response to the poor design quality of goods and services aimed at older and disabled people.

A decade on the 2010 challenge was launched this week at the Royal College of Art. The brief ‘Active ageing – designing for our future selves” looks at the challenges faced by our rapidly growing ageing population to remain active and productive in later life.

Maria Parsons, Sanctuary Care’s dementia lead for care (older persons) and one of this year’s judges said: “The standard of last year’s entries was truly inspirational and we are delighted to be on board again for a third year. People are living longer and ageing is a massive global challenge. We want the designers to think about how they would like to age and be inspired to design creations that are inclusive and respond to the needs of the widest range of ages and abilities.”

The designers will submit their outline proposals later this month. The shortlisted teams will then visit Sanctuary Care’s homes and schemes across the country to meet the organisation’s residents for ideas and inspiration. The deadline for the submission of the designs will be in January, followed by a presentation evening in March where the winner will be announced. The grand finale will be an exhibition showcasing the winning designs from the last decade, which will take place at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum in April.

Julia Cassim, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre said: “We are delighted to be working with Sanctuary Care for the third year in succession - their support and the doors they have opened for the design teams has been a crucial factor in the excellence of the final design outcomes.”

Meanwhile DBA awards manager Natalie Maher said: “We are really excited to be launching the 10th DBA Inclusive Design Challenge and delighted to be working with Sanctuary Care again. This year’s brief taps into an important social issue and I am excited to see how the design industry uses its creativity to improve the lives of our ageing population. I can't wait to see what the best of the UK designers come up with this year.”

The theme of last year’s challenge was sedentary lives, with Bath-based company Matter declared the winner. Matter worked alongside existing client Herman Miller to produce mo - a revolutionary portable seating product that redefines an everyday icon of sedentary lives – the cushion. mo has a matrix structure and with each pixel conforming to the user’s weight, spreads its load evenly across the surface, supporting micro movements and allowing the blood to flow around the body.