A unique specialist dementia care unit in Liverpool has won a top national design award.

The purpose-built £1.2m council-run Sedgemoor Dementia Support Centre in Norris Green opened in spring 2013 and was the first of its type in the country, reports the Liverpool Express.

Now it has beaten off competition from bigger and more expensive projects across the rest of the country to pick up the Best Care Complex award at the Healthcare Design Awards.

The awards recognise and celebrate the way in which the needs and desires of residents are incorporated into the final design of buildings.

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Sedgemoor – which was built by construction firm Bullock – has been specially designed for people with dementia and provides assessment and respite facilities, with naturally lit spaces and an open plan layout to provide a calming atmosphere.

It features a hi-tech, interactive 4D theatre, where people are able to immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and even smells of the past through old videos, cine footage, photographs and relevant scents, helping with cognitive therapy.

Other features include:

• A circular design which is easy to navigate, with large windows

• The use of objects of interest to help with 'sensing' a route

• Extensive use of the colour red as it is stimulating for people with dementia

• Peaceful, secure and safe garden area where activities take place.

(CD)