Dementia expert helps transform living spaces for Sir Jackie Stewart’s wife Lady Helen

28 August 2026

The trailblazing design is already an award winner

Dining room table and chairs with bold prints on wall — One of the rooms in Sir Jackie and Lady Helen's Swiss apartment.

A dementia design expert at the University of Stirling has helped transform the living spaces of Lady Helen Stewart, wife of former racing champion Sir Jackie Stewart, as her dementia progresses.

Stirling academic and architect Professor Lesley Palmer has been working with Fiona Pia Architects to design a dementia-friendly apartment in Switzerland which uses space, lighting and accessibility to help Lady Stewart maintain her independence and remain at home as her dementia progresses.

Research has shown that dementia design can improve quality of life for people living with a dementia and their care partners. 

The University of Stirling, which is home to the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), is a forerunner in healthy ageing research. DSDC provides consultancy services and toolkits for residential and commercial spaces to become dementia-friendly.

Three-time F1 champion Sir Jackie and his wife have been receiving support from DSDC for more than a decade, including design advice across their properties. Lady Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2012 and can no longer walk. The couple celebrate their wedding anniversary today, Friday 28 August.

As a result of the re-design, the Stewarts’ apartment on Lake Geneva, or Lac Léman, has been awarded a Gold Dementia Design Audit Accreditation from DSDC, making it the first apartment in mainland Europe to receive the prestigious Gold award.

Lesley Palmer
Professor of Ageing and Dementia Design

As our research at the University of Stirling has demonstrated, making even small changes to a person's environment can go a very long way towards helping people with dementia enjoy quality of life, dignity, and independence.

Dementia-friendly features in the renovated apartment include: low-level counters to allow Lady Helen to interact and participate in cooking and kitchen activities; a see-through and easily accessible fridge; visible open cabinetry and front-facing clothing in the bedroom; materials that promote calmness and help spatial orientation; integrated lighting of curated personal items; subtly integrated and custom-made medical, cleaning and disinfection areas; and private medical areas for Lady Helen and her care providers.

Lesley Palmer, Professor of Ageing and Dementia at the University of Stirling, worked closely with Lausanne-based architect Fiona Pia, advising on the design and interiors of the apartment. Professor Palmer said: “It has been a privilege to work with Sir Jackie Stewart’s family for over a decade. While their circumstances may differ from many, their journey with dementia — and the adaptations it requires at home — is something many families will recognise.

“As our research at the University of Stirling has demonstrated, making even small changes to a person’s environment can go a very long way towards helping people with dementia enjoy quality of life, dignity, and independence.

“In the Stewart family apartment, for example, materials such as wood promote warmth and calmness, while high-contrast colours and furnishings help delineate spaces and promote better orientation. Bigger structural changes included making the inside-to-outside transition level, and creating discrete clinical spaces which will support end-of-life care, separate from the living area."

Wedding anniversary

Sir Jackie, who received an honorary degree from the University of Stirling in 2001, said: “Helen and I celebrate our 64th wedding anniversary this month and some of you may know that during my motor racing career, Helen was my timekeeper and my lap charter and she was the best. It is incredibly important to me, and our two sons, that we now give her the best support possible, as she lives with this cruel disease.

“We are therefore very grateful for the work undertaken by the University of Stirling and Fiona Pia Architects, which will allow Helen to live as comfortably as possible.’

Find out more about DSDC here: Dementia Services Development Centre

two armchairs in front of TV Bold colours and contrast were used for ease of navigation, while personal mementoes, which spark memories, receive special lighting.

dining room table and chairs The apartment was re-designed with well-lit, clearly delineated and uncluttered areas, all of which make daily living easier for people with dementia.