The current retirement generation, mostly composed of baby boomers, is drastically different from those who came before them.
For example, the Depression-era generation grew up doing without and became frugal by nature. When it comes to their senior living expectations, they look for a small room with a bed and only want to pay for minimal services. The requirements of baby boomers, though, can’t be so generalized. Their retirement life is often broken down into necessities and desires, shaped by their location and the lifestyle they’ve experienced thus far.
Necessities need to have value, while desires are almost limitless. Consider my father, who will drive 40 miles to save 20 cents on a 24-pack of toilet paper, then stop at a Starbucks on the way home for a $7 mocha frappé latte. This idea translates into his choices in retirement. His generation is looking for a retirement home that offers basic services at a good value but also offers lots of choices. The option of getting a steak and lobster dinner every night is a huge selling point, even if he chooses to have an apple and cup of coffee most of the time. Similarly, things like a pool, a gym, and a beauty salon are necessities, even though they’re rarely used.
As fast as technology is changing in this Information Age, so too is what prospective residents require. No longer is the traditional nursing home an acceptable answer to the burgeoning need for senior housing. But in this post-recession environment, high-end resort style living usually isn’t realistic, either. The fact is, there isn’t a formula that will work everywhere and all of the time. Every state, every city, every environment, and every demographic presents its own unique criteria for determining which developments will be successful.
The one constant idea that’s paramount in all new facilities is the desire for a higher level of human dignity. The heart of the environment is no longer a hospital where seniors go to be taken care of, but rather a place that has the comforts of home and where seniors can thrive in a healthy environment that’s tailored to them.
Look and feel
Aesthetics are essential to the success of a senior living development. The current generation of retirees is more sophisticated and more educated than the last, and this has been reflected in interior design trends. Traditionally, high-end facilities were designed with flowered wallpaper and wood trim because “Grandma likes Victorian,” or the art was pastoral scenes of days gone by. Now, interior design is becoming more international and modern. Art is more colorful, abstract, and thought-provoking. The key is to be timeless instead of kitschy or trendy.
Flooring selections have shifted to beautiful carpet with interesting patterns and colors rather than the standard white vinyl composition tile. Chandeliers and tableside lamps are replacing harsh overhead lighting, and wainscoting, chair rails, and crown molding are installed where bumpers and corner guards once were.
Bathing now takes place in a spa environment with heated floors, heated towels, aromatherapy, and soothing music.
Know your residents
Operations are also morphing from a one-size-fits-all concept into packages of care and amenities that residents can choose from to meet their wants and needs as well as their budgets. Senior living is very much about the community but shouldn’t feel like a commune. The design must bring all aspects of the community together, have a heart, be vibrant and diverse, and have a strong sense of place.
The programming also must go well beyond simple ADA accessibility standards and requires a thorough understanding of the models available, including independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care. Each component has its own codes—building codes, life safety codes, fire codes, and health codes—and demands a very specific understanding of other details, such as accessibility, nurse call and wander guard systems, and more.
By focusing on the physical and mental challenges that some residents may face and providing integrated design solutions, designers are able to create a better product.
For example, many seniors—especially in independent living—have the ability to move without the assistance of walkers or wheelchairs but have limited reach ranges. Simple adjustments like specifying that power outlets in walls be raised to 24 inches above the floor or installed on the front face of kitchen cabinets instead of on the back wall can make an apartment more senior friendly, instead of just ADA compliant. Similarly, bedrooms and bathrooms that feature mechanical lifts need to be studied, making sure to allow both sufficient and convenient clearance—an allowance that’s almost always more than ADA requires.
Keys to success
As medical care improves and society focuses more on healthy lifestyles, people are naturally living longer and staying healthier later into their lives. This trend will start to skew the age when people make the decision to move into senior housing and, in reality, it already has. The average move-in age is rising, and so too is the fragility level of residents. Since baby boomers don’t want to move out of their houses until they absolutely have to, the need for an independent living component in these developments will decline, and the need for assisted living and skilled nursing will increase. In fact, as the development of age-restricted housing increases, it may drive independent living into nonexistence.
The senior housing designer of today must be able to deftly navigate all of the code requirements and still make a space feel like home. Senior living is institutional by nature, and health codes tend to reinforce this. That’s why designers are often better – off taking a residential approach rather than a medical one that attempts to hide the inherent institutional feel.
To be successful, it’s important that a designer not only have intimate knowledge of senior living requirements but the ability to incorporate all of the comforts of home and conveniences of modern healthcare technology.
Steve Gardner is a senior associate with Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, AIA (Denver). He can be reached at [email protected].
