Architectural designs for residences housing older people are usually centered on such matters as installing grab bars everywhere, non-slip bathroom flooring, and shower spaces with built-in chairs.
But an innovative program launched by the American Institute of Architects has challenged architects to come up with designs that address an equally important facet of living: well-being.
The AIA’s Design for Aging Knowledge Community asks architects to provide “relevant research on characteristics, planning, and costs associated with innovative designs for living.”
To that end, the association has established a Design for Aging Review Award which, according to an AIA press release, recognizes architects who demonstrate innovative design solutions to improve the quality of life for older adults within specific project constraints.”
Of the five most recently announced award-winning projects, three are located in the West and include the Aegis Living Lake Union in Seattle. That project, with an emphasis on well-being themes, plays off the aesthetics of the adjacent 580-acre Lake Union.
In so doing, the project, designed by the Ankrom Moisan architectural firm, which has offices in Seattle, references wood rowing shells, and provides a subtle nod to the “rhythms of rowing seen in the brick herringbone detailing around windows, the entry canopy, and custom designed steel balcony railings.”
A second project, heading down the West coast, is seeing the expansion of the Rose Villa Senior Living complex in Portland, a 22-acre campus that has “reimagined senior living communities.”
The project places an emphasis on wood-formed structures, with a “palpable sense of outdoor living” prompted by oversized windows, garden terraces, and balconies.
The Rose Villa complex project was designed jointly by the Scott Edwards Architecture firm of Portland, and Gawron Turgeon Architects of Scarborough, Maine.
A western project is seeing the design of the Gramercy Senior Housing complex in Los Angeles, a project with building heights on a campus that provide residents an “extra measure of privacy,” while “maximizing the light available to the surrounding parcels.”
A project belonging to Kevin Daly Architects of Los Angeles, the Gramercy design provides connections to the outdoors via multiple levels, ensuring that “residents can engage with their surroundings and neighbors without feeling crowded.
The multiple level design particularly provides outdoor connections for residents “regardless of their age or mobility.”
The AIA’s emphasis on designs for senior housing comes at a propitious time: according to the Census Bureau, there are now around 57 million people aged 65 years of age or older in the U.S., with forecasts that that number will increase to 80 million by the year 2040.
By Garry Boulard
