Jury Awards Citations for Innovative Nursing, Assisted Living, and Continuing Care Facilities of All Sizes
Eight Projects Receive Special Recognition for Design Excellence in Design For Aging: 2004 Review
The American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Design for Aging Knowledge Community (DFA), in conjunction with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), announces it has chosen 44 projects to be included in its biannual program, titled Design for Aging: 2004 Review. Eight of the 44 projects chosen by the jury will receive a citation for design excellence. Projects selected for publication will be exhibited along with the citation recipients at the AAHSA Annual Meeting & Exposition, October 26-29, 2003, in Denver, as well as at the AIA 2004 National Convention and Expo in Chicago, June 10-12, 2004.
The joint DFA program, in its seventh cycle, includes a juried exhibition, a book, and education programs. The review is developed biannually by the DFA as a means to showcase facilities that improve quality of life for the aging while exhibiting innovation in their design and execution. It seeks to demonstrate architectural design trends and commend excellence but also to serve as a reference for providers, developers, users, advocates, architects, and other design professionals in this growing market.
The Review encompasses a broad view of facilities designed for senior citizens, including nursing homes, dementia care, assisted living, and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). The year's Review included three new subcategories: special features, research projects, and sustainable building solutions. The projects are chosen for inclusion by a panel of jurors including architects, facility managers, and care providers.
"As we reviewed the 80 submissions, we were looking for innovative projects of high design quality that specifically respond to important industry trends such as lifelong learning, healthy aging, intergenerational programming, and resident participation in the care provision process," said jury representative Jeffrey Anderzhon, AIA. He added, "This year we had an exceptional pool of projects to review and were extremely impressed with many of the solutions that architects are creating for the senior community."
Additionally, AAHSA's mission-driven programming and Quality First principles regarding continuous quality improvement, workforce excellence, public input and community involvement, and financial stewardship were also considered by the jury throughout the evaluation and selection process.
The following eight projects were honored with citations in the Design for Aging: 2004 Review:
Category: CCRC
Project: Collington Episcopal Life Care Community
Location: Mitchellville, Md.
Architect: Perkins Eastman
Jury Comments: This project includes a renewal of, and addition to, an existing CCRC which focuses on resident choices and resident community. Attention is paid to the organization and dynamics of congregate spaces where residents are enabled, through the built environment, to create a community that is not dictated to them. While the approach to design and finish selection is sophisticated, the complete design is neither pretentious nor off-putting, encouraging full engagement within the spaces by all residents.
Category: CCRC
Project: Avalon Square
Location: Waukesha, Wis.
Architect: KKE Architects
Jury Comments: This is a superb rendering of an urban assisted living residence where community comes together-- melding commercial space, creative historic preservation, and a clear urban design language. While the solution is somewhat dense, the result provides invigoration with its attention to the interaction of private and public spaces, both within the building and on the street. The façade is detailed well and respectful of an urban context but offers a unique sense of place.
Category: CCRC
Project: Franciscan Sisters of Chicago
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Architect: The Troyer Group
Jury Comments: Addressing affordability as well as the dynamics of aging and the specialized needs of the residents, this assisted living residence provides a respectful, spiritual residence with an elegance of simplicity for its residents. The design appropriately addresses both the spiritual and secular requirements of care, blending them seamlessly without diminishing either.
Category: Assisted Living
Project: The Village at Waveny Care Center
Location: New Canaan, Conn.
Architect: Reese Lower Patrick and Scott
Jury Comments: The creative use of community spaces -- coupled with a sensitivity to, and recognition of, the intuitive sense of local architecture -- makes this assisted living residence for the memory-impaired unique without being experimental or visually "faddish." The organization of the residences, with clear design delineation between them and the "Main Street," can only enhance the experience of both residents and visitors.
Category: Assisted Living
Project: Cuthbertson Village at Aldersgate
Location: Charlotte, N.C.
Architect: Freeman White, Inc.
Jury Comments: The attention paid to the organization and layering of communities within this nursing residence addition provides a design on an individual scale, both on the interior and exterior. The plan creatively overcomes regulatory restrictions while recognizing staffing organization and maintaining resident orientation. The central community space provides a naturally lit gathering place with a visual enthusiasm and diversity but without stylistic confusion.
Category: Nursing
Project: The Green Houses at Traceway
Location: Tupelo, Miss.
Architect: The McCarty Company
Jury Comments: In what may be the ultimate household concept, this nursing residence explores both intimate care provision and perhaps the new model of a nursing environment. The economies in construction of the building may well offset higher, but more personal, staffing costs. Here, there is a journey toward a new paradigm of nursing care that included the client, the staff, and the designer. Its simplicity and straightforwardness are a credit to the foresight of that collaboration.
Category: Nursing
Project: Colorado State Veterans Home at Fitzsimons
Location: Aurora, Colo.
Architect: Boulder Associates, Inc.
Jury Comments: Working within highly restrictive programmatic guidelines, with particular attention to the staffing and shift use of space, the design of this nursing residence responds creatively in plan and with an understated vernacular dignity without loss of residential scale. The collaboration between owner and designer is pronounced, clearly guided by mission, with particular attention to creatively addressing budgetary issues. Of particular note is the design team's involvement in, and attention to, a full understanding of how the built environment and the care provision program dynamically interact.
Category: Special Features
Project: St. Cecilia PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly)
Location: New Orleans, La.
Architect: Blitch Knevel Architects, Inc.
Jury Comments: The conversion of a local architectural icon from spiritual use to the service of neighborhood seniors is done with respect to both its former and new uses. The adaptation of St. Cecilia's Church and School provides for physical, social, and emotional needs in a way that both respects the setting and enhances the neighborhood. The clear synergy between the community, the client, and the architect manifests itself in a contemporary approach as well as a sensitive rehabilitation of the space. This project provides a guide for maintaining the social fabric of the community through a retooling of the built environment into a much-needed model of care provision for the elderly.
About The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
AAHSA is committed to advancing the vision of healthy, affordable, ethical aging services for America. The association represents 5,600 mission-driven, not-for-profit nursing homes, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living and senior housing facilities, and community service organizations. Every day, AAHSA's members serve more than one million older persons across the country.
About The American Institute of Architects
Since 1857, the AIA has represented the professional interests of America's architects. As AIA members, nearly 70,000 licensed architects, emerging professionals and allied partners express their commitment to excellence in design and livability in our nation's buildings and communities. Members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct that assures the client, the public, and colleagues of an AIA-member architect's dedication to the highest standards in professional practice.