Testimonials
“Over the past couple of years, I've had the pleasure of knowing Sara, but it's in the last 18 months that I've had the opportunity to work closely with her. Sara is an exceptional architect whose passion for dementia care shines through in her innovative approach to aged care design. Her academic curiosity, combined with her remarkable planning and visual presentation skills, enables her to bring her visionary ideas to life in a way that stimulates organisational learning.
Sara's ability to think innovatively about future-focused dementia design is impressive. She has a strong commitment to human rights, which is evident in her thoughtful insights that balance risk and rights in the context of dementia design. This balance requires a deep understanding of the intricacies of where design meets the model of care.
Working with Sara has been a joy. Her willingness to listen with interest, tackle complex problems with courage, and collaborate effectively to merge two bodies of knowledge—dementia design and dementia care—into one, has resulted in new insights that are both inspiring and impactful (possibly world leading).
Sara's work is cutting-edge as she keeps abreast of current research and actively participates in a wider dementia community to develop knowledge. Her dedication and innovative contributions make her a valuable asset to any project.”
Caroline Bartle - Caroline Bartle Consulting
“We have an older style house, and wanted to modernise the facilities with a kitchen extension and addition of a wet floor en-suite to the master bedroom. Sara had done some work for us in the past, so we contacted her to see what could be done. The house dates back over 90 years, so working within the original building was the issue. We were very conscious that it had to be suitable for us, but still practicable for the future owners, whenever that may be. Sara’s experience resulted in a design that meet all of our needs.
With the requirements today to obtain a building consent, not only do you need the drawings to show what is intended, but there is a multitude of rules, materials and regulations that need to be addressed to accompany the consent application. Sara applied her experience from working on large commercial developments, to our house alteration and guided us straight through the process. She worked well alongside our builder, giving advice on what appropriate or not. Her knowledge helped us tremendously.
Sara is a very professional architect and is easy to communicate with. We are absolutely delighted with the end result, and Sara has our full recommendation for anyone planning a building project.”
Errol Wills - House refurbishment client
“It is unusual to find an architect who truly understands the language of those that they are designing for. Sara is one of these people.
We were fortunate enough to attend the Dementia Lab Conference in Belgium in late 2023, followed by a tour of several Green Care Farms in the Netherlands. Traveling with Sara, I had the privilege of seeing things through a different lens. My understanding of the value of an intelligent built environment increased tenfold during our time together.
We had a fusion of clinical and architectural expertise and it was an absolute pleasure to work collaboratively with Sara. I have seen amazing designs from Sara who really is an expert, at the top of her field. She works well in the innovative space and her level of skill and intellect really is second to none.
I follow Sara on Linkedin because I really cannot wait to see what she will do next. Even if she wasn’t undertaking a doctorate, I think she would remain engaged and current with how things are evolving in the dementia design space, simply because she is passionate about what she is doing.”
Karen Lake - former Ryman Healthcare colleague