Losing Myself

Losing Myself is the first architecture project to examine dementia by bringing together perspectives from neuroscience, anthropology, health, art, media and design.

Overview

Losing Myself is the first architecture project to examine dementia by bringing together perspectives from neuroscience, anthropology, health, art, media and design. It was developed through interdisciplinary dialogue and a new process of research-based collaborative drawing, demonstrating an imaginative engagement with dementia.

The project explores spatial cognition, seeking a deeper comprehension of how mind, body and architecture interact as a whole. While most literature produced on dementia for architects focuses on ‘best practice’ guidance, Losing Myself encourages thought and debate around the subject, expanding our capacity as built environment professionals to better understand and empathetically design for dementia and ageing.

A multi-media installation formed The Irish Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, while the open-access website losingmyself.ie compiles the authors’ research and a set of design recommendations, titled ‘16 Lessons’, that outline a holistic approach to making and sustaining inclusive buildings and communities.

The impact of McLaughlin’s long-term research about architecture and dementia can be gauged by his lectures on the subject to institutions like the House of Lords and the RIBA, and by his buildings and masterplans with intergenerational programmes such as his project, Univ North, the largest modern addition to University College Oxford. Since 2015, Manolopoulou has extended the research into an experimental use of open scores in architectural design (Montreal 2017, UCL Press 2020) and in writings for Arts & Dementia (De Gruyter 2020) and Neurodivergence and Architecture (Elsevier 2022). Shortlisted for the RIBA President’s Awards in the Research, Design & Technical category, 2017.

People

Co-authors
Professor Yeoryia Manolopoulou
Professor Níall McLaughlin

Níall McLaughlin Architects
Claire McMenamin, Eimear Arthur, Benni Allan and Joanna Karatzas

Drawing team
Benni Allan, Sandra Coppin, Hannah Corlett, James Daykin, Bev Dockray, Anne Marie Galmstrup, Emma Guy, Lee Halligan, Katherine Hegab, Joanna Karatzas, Yeoryia Manolopoulou, Níall McLaughlin, Claire McMenamin, Ben Nicholls, Anne Schroell, Michiko Sumi, Simon Tonks

Animation
Liam Davis, Emir Tigrel

Composer
Kevin Pollard

Graphic and website design
Objectif

Audiovisual production and installation
ArtAV

Chief curator of the 15th International Exhibition
Alejandro Aravena
For a full list of collaborators and acknowledgements visit losingmyself.ie/credits

Related links

losingmyself.ie

External partners

The Orchard Respite Centre, Dublin; The Alzheimer Society of Ireland; La Biennale di Venezia; Culture Ireland; The Arts Council of Ireland; The Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht; The Royal Institute of the Architects of; Architecture Research Fund, The Bartlett, UCL

Image credits

1. The Irish Pavilion: Losing Myself, La Biennale di Venezia, Níall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou, 2016. Photograph Nick Kane
2. The Irish Pavilion: Losing Myself, La Biennale di Venezia, Níall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou, 2016. Photograph Nick Kane
3. Losing Myself, drawing process by Yeoryia Manolopoulou, 2016
4. Losing Myself, drawing process by Michiko Sumi, 2016
5. Losing Myself, overlapping drawings, Níall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou, 2016