As populations age and dementia and Alzheimer's disease become more prevalent, the need for cognitive accessibility in everyday environments is increasingly critical. Texas State University Assistant Professor Nadim Adi, PhD, is addressing this need through his research, a pioneering university course, and the development of NuroNest, an early-stage AI platform designed to identify environmental risks in interior spaces.
Adi, from the Department of Interior Design in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences, emphasizes that lighting, contrast, clutter, signage, furniture placement, wayfinding, and sensory cues can either support dignity and independence or contribute to confusion and unsafe conditions for individuals with cognitive impairments. Families and care teams often focus on medication and monitoring, overlooking the physical environment as a vital component of care. Adi's work aims to change that perspective.
NuroNest is being developed as an AI-supported design assessment tool that analyzes images of interior spaces and flags features that may negatively affect people living with dementia or aging-related cognitive changes. These features include low contrast between furniture and floors or walls, unclear pathways, visual clutter, and weak wayfinding cues. The long-term vision is to make dementia-supportive design more accessible to families, caregivers, and organizations that sense a space "doesn't feel right" but lack immediate access to a specialist. The tool is intended to raise awareness and guide better conversations, not to replace designers, clinicians, occupational therapists, caregivers, or dementia care professionals.
Adi's research and teaching underpin the product vision. With Dr. Mais Aljunaidy, assistant professor of psychology at Texas State, he co-authored An Introduction to Architectural Psychopathology, a textbook focusing on how interior design can support people experiencing mental disorders, including dementia. The pair also developed Texas State's interdisciplinary architectural psychopathology course, offered starting fall 2025, which trains students to design spaces that actively support individuals living with conditions such as autism, dementia, depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. The course has been covered by Texas State News, Texas Public Radio, and Community Impact.
Adi's peer-reviewed work includes a systematic study of architecture and mental disorders in HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, research on using virtual reality to assess elderly and dementia-friendly hospital design, and writing on artificial intelligence and mental disorder art therapy. He has also spoken publicly on aging-ready environments, including a TEDx Texas State University talk on preparing buildings for an aging population, and hosts conversations on design and mental health through Mental Design Labs.
NuroNest remains in its early stages, with Adi and his team refining the technology, gathering feedback, and exploring research validation and partnerships. The team is actively seeking research collaborators, pilot partners, and organizations—including community groups, senior living providers, healthcare organizations, dementia care advocates, researchers, designers, and technology partners—interested in validating and advancing the technology to improve environments for older adults and people living with dementia.
This initiative is significant because it bridges the gap between interior design and cognitive health, potentially transforming how environments are created and adapted for an aging population. By integrating AI with evidence-based design principles, NuroNest could democratize access to dementia-supportive design, enabling more families and organizations to create safer, more supportive spaces. As the global population ages, the implications of this work extend beyond individual homes to healthcare facilities, senior living communities, and public spaces, making cognitive accessibility a standard consideration in design practice.
