What happens to senior living communities when baby boomers are ready to retire? In 2013, this question morphed into reality as this particular generation retired in its first wave. Many communities designed and built in the 1970s were geared to the acceptance of a long, slow demise—and their design reflected that ethos. Heavily institutional, they were staff-centered environments, and not focused on resident needs. As these structures reach 30-plus years of age, communities are facing substantial costs to replace and upgrade the existing mechanical infrastructures, as well.
Arbor Acres in Winston-Salem, N.C., was established in the 1970s; this financially independent community is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is overseen by its own board of directors. Situated on 86 acres, the original campus consisted of a central mega-structure with community spaces on the first level, connected to three- and four-story apartment buildings. All structures surround a manmade lake. The original construction also included small apartments connected to the main structure by covered walkways. Over time, residential duplex structures were added to the campus along with a licensed nursing care facility. The most recent addition was a new three-story apartment building with large one- and two- bedroom apartments connected to the main building.
Original apartment buildings were composed of mostly studio apartments, but a shift in market demand resulted in two studios being combined into a one-bedroom apartment as two adjacent units became available. As the original population aged, the need for a level of care above independent living–yet below licensed nursing care–was identified. The Corpening building was one of the original studio apartment buildings and still consisted mostly of studio units. Later, it was converted for assisted living. This allowed residents to remain connected to the independent living facility and, in cases where one member of a couple required assisted living, he or she could remain in close physical proximity to the spouse who would, by necessity, remain in the independent living area. In this converted apartment building, common areas were minimal and consisted mainly of a dining room on each level. Progressing from independent living to assisted living carried a stigma, and residents and their families were resistant to “cross that line” because of the loss of independence and more limited amenities available to maintain a good quality of life.
The leap forward
Arbor Acres leadership began to realize that its existing small assisted living facility was inadequate, lacking all but the most basic amenities, while demand for this type of care was increasing rapidly. Facilities for resident bathing were minimal and institutional, and there was little room for common area functions. They engaged RLPS Architects of Lancaster, Pa., to help lead a strategic master planning process for campus improvements and expansion. Out of this came a three-step plan: (1) construct a purpose-built assisted living facility on adjacent, newly acquired property, (2) renovate the existing assisted living facility for new one-bedroom apartments, and (3) renovate and expand the existing pool facility into a fully featured fitness center.
Named Asbury Place, the new assisted living facility (opened in 2012) is composed of 60 studio, one-, and two- bedroom apartments. The two-bedroom apartments allow couples to remain together as one or both require assisted living services. The building was designed to look like an assemblage of two- and three-story townhomes constructed over time, but is very much a unified structure on the interior. Hallways are bright and have a hospitality feel with variations in wall surface, ceiling, and pattern. Bold pops of color and significant artwork acquisitions are used for orientation and wayfinding. Nurses’ stations are concealed behind doors and small carts occupy the halls only during medicine distribution and routine checks on residents.
The common areas available to residents include a full slate of services and spaces typically available to independent living, such as a double-height entry lounge and dining room, kitchens on each floor (resident apartments have kitchenettes), and a beauty shop. Other amenities include the Alibi Café for snacks throughout the day, which is also the gathering place for a pre-dinner happy hour. To support an active lifestyle, gardens have been developed surrounding the building and a combination fitness/rehabilitation center occupies the ground level. This facility includes a rehabilitation pool with an elevator floor and allows supervised use by residents at all stages of ability. One of the favorite amenities is “the spa.” Residents go to the spa for bathing, where four treatment rooms surround a tranquil waiting area. This elevates a necessary process for this level of care to a special experience, while maintaining resident dignity. Other typical spa services, such as massage, are also available to residents.
Once the new assisted living facility was complete and occupied, the former facility (the Corpening building) became vacant. It was attached on one end to the independent living common areas and at the other by the indoor pool facility, originally constructed as an addition in the 1980s. Based on ideas developed in the master planning phase, Lambert Architecture + Interiors of Winston-Salem, N.C., was engaged to design and implement these projects. The Corpening apartment building was gutted to the structure. This allowed the introduction of all-new HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems (the previous building was not sprinklered). The load-bearing interior masonry walls presented challenges to interior layouts, but in the end the structure was able to accommodate 20 one-bedroom apartments. A typical unit was mocked up for review by Arbor Acres’ staff and the design and construction team, while a model unit was also used by marketing staff for prospective residents.
As the structural ceiling height was limited to 8 feet maximum, this enabled the routing of systems to be carefully coordinated to maintain the maximum ceiling height wherever possible. The original design incorporated bay windows, but the floor area within these projections was occupied by fan-coil units. The new unit layout relocated the mechanical units to a more serviceable location adjacent to the kitchen and freed up space in the window bays for resident use. Exterior access to the building is via the middle level due to grade changes, and a parking area is located at this level.
Fitness and activity
The renovations to the Corpening apartments would block residents’ internal access to the pool area, and mechanical infrastructure replacement meant that the pool would be closed for the 10-month duration of the apartment renovation, in any case. This presented the perfect opportunity to reinvent the single-use pool facility as a full-featured fitness center. Arbor Acres had an active ongoing wellness program, but it had no central “home.” A room had been co-opted in one location for weights, treadmills, exercycles, and elliptical machines, while the auditorium was used for exercise classes. The single indoor pool was shared by water exercise classes and lap swimmers, and was not ideal for either group.
The pool structure was retained but greatly modified. The pool itself was demolished and replaced by three pools: a two-lane lap pool set at a cooler temperature preferred by users; an exercise pool with a gently sloping bottom that accommodates both shorter and taller residents and is set at a warmer temperature; and a hydrotherapy spa popular for post-workout use by both groups. Locker room facilities were renovated and expanded in place to provide more shower and dressing spaces for both sexes.
The building was expanded from approximately 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. For the addition, the Lambert team configured separate spaces for the weight/resistance room and the adjacent multipurpose room, linked by a 1/20th of a mile track that encircles both. If activities in the multipurpose room are being held that require quiet and separation, such as a yoga class, two sets of large doors can be closed and the track can be closed for a brief period. Large windows allow daylight into all spaces, with glass interior walls sharing the light and contributing to the active feel within the facility. They also allow staff easy supervision of multiple areas simultaneously. Arbor Acres staff report that resident use of all facilities doubled since the facility opened in May 2013.
Central to the expansion is an entry lobby that serves both the fitness center and the new Corpening apartment building. This cylinder form is highly visible and has become a symbol of a rejuvenated campus. These reinvention efforts are now being extended to other areas of the campus, including the remaining original apartment buildings and common areas and the skilled nursing center.
Stuart McCormick, AIA, LEED AP, is the vice president and director of design at Lambert Architecture + Interiors in Winston-Salem, N.C. He can be reached at [email protected].
