Renovations at Emeritus at Regency Residence (above), an Emeritus Senior Living community
in Margate, Florida, include modern and thoughtful interior design strategies that maximize
residents’ opportunities to gather in flexible shared spaces. A new theater at Evans Park at
Newton Center (below), a Benchmark Assisted Living community in Newton, Massachusetts, is
a flexible space where the community can also host social gatherings.
ing is an increasing need for memory
care,” says kevin swanson, the company’s corporate interior designer. Emeritus typically will take a corridor of 15 to
30 apartments, secure the area, and convert some of the apartments to dining
space, other apartments into shared living space, etc. “If a resident starts to develop dementia, it’s a much less stressful transition if she can stay where she
is living,” Swanson explains.
JSA’s Warner says his company is
seeing more clients carve out space to
offer new gradations of care, especially
memory care, to attract new residents
or keep current residents in their apartments longer. Compared to independent
living and traditional retirement communities, the demand for Alzheimer’s
care has been virtually unaffected by
economic ups and downs.
“We are doing a lot of conversions
of sections because occupancy is down.
Now they can convert those rooms and
consolidate them for dementia care,”
Warner explains. And while JSA usually
focuses on not-for-profit CCRCs, the
majority of its projects right now are
for freestanding assisted living or hybrid care communities, a barometer of
where consumer demand and resources
currently lie.
Also driving remodeling and refur-bishment projects in senior living are the
latest best practices for resident care and
satisfaction. Many assisted living communities, for example, incorporate an
overall “wellness” or holistic approach
to resident care. This approach, which
incorporates physical, mental, and spiritual health care, has helped shape community designs over the years. Today,
more communities feature spas, yoga-friendly exercise spaces, and thoughtfully landscaped walking trails.
Another manifestation of the wellness
transformation has been a shift toward
designing resort-like features into senior
living communities, including concierge
stations, Wifi-equipped cafés, and carefully manicured putting greens.
“You’re not going to attract customers
if you don’t speak to that lifestyle,” says
brian dawson, AIA, principal at irwin
pancake dawson in Costa Mesa, California. “At first blush, they’re arriving at
a resort, but beyond that is a whole other
layer of design” that accommodates the
needs of seniors, he says.
new generation of residents
Interior designers also are registering a
shift from the “greatest generation” of
World War II-era seniors to a glimpse of
residents to come. On the surface have
been gradual changes in esthetics. Formal chandeliers, Queen Ann’s chairs,
and floral textiles are on the way out;
seniors and the influx of baby boomers
are more likely to prefer fixtures and fur-
nishings with clean lines, as well as an
emphasis on texture and color.
“Our residents are changing even
in the next five years. Residents moving into our communities will have
grown up in a different era,” Swanson
explains.
What’s more, designers must incorporate experiences familiar to this new-est generation of residents and at the
same time help enhance their daily lives.
For example, the service-oriented experience of reading the morning newspaper
at a coffee shop is a social phenomenon
that designers are working hard to replicate in a senior living setting. Residents
“don’t want to go to a library and be
alone,” says Dawson. “A part of freshening up something is changing programming and services. Communities are
adding more options, more clubs. We
call it the Starbucks experience.”
Designers are also getting more requests for flexible, open spaces—rooms
that can accommodate community receptions and Wii competitions, for example. Flexibility is becoming a senior
living design mantra, Dawson says. Designers also are being asked to install
new features, such as a bar where residents can meet over wine while waiting
for dinner.
Other trends include the demise of
the computer lab as more and more
technologically savvy residents own their
own computers and laptops. Swanson
has installed a couple of mini cyber-cafés in Emeritus communities. These
inviting nooks are outfitted with just a
couple computers where residents can
grab their morning coffee and check
e-mail.
Many designers also report requests
