Aging is universal, unavoidable, and for the designers, providers, and advocates dedicated to helping seniors age with dignity, it’s very personal.
At the 2024 Environments for Aging Conference + Expo in Atlanta, April 13-16, I met Sarah Langille, a budding architect at LaBella Associates (Rochester, N.Y.) who is inspired and motivated by her years as a caregiver for seniors to create better communities for both residents and staff.
I heard the passion of presenters such as Richard Martz, chief operating officer, partner, and principal, at investment and development firm Live Work Learn Play, who is reminded of his grandmothers, Bubbie Alice and Bubbie Celia, as he builds communities he wishes they had in their twilight years.
And who envisions a place where his active dad, who has summited Mount Kilimanjaro and skied the slopes at Vail, could continue to live his life at “100 percent for 100 years,” as Cynthia Thurlow Cruver, founder of branding agency 3rdPlus, put it.
So many others I spoke with and heard shared their personal stories and motivations behind the work they do in senior living communities.
I arrived at the EFA Conference just days after joining the EFA editorial staff as the new senior editor. Previously, I worked as an editor covering hotels and hospitality, where “people first” is a common mantra.
During the EFA Conference community tour at Heartis Buckhead on the famous Peachtree Road in Atlanta, I saw model resident rooms and suites that rival or even best the level of comfort and décor at some extended-stay and luxury hotels; and communal activity and outdoor spaces that would be envied by even some high-priced resorts.
But whereas a hotel or resort strives to be a “home away from home,” these senior communities are home. At Heartis Buckhead, I met the community’s first resident, who was returning after an afternoon stroll. He spoke with pride and love about his home.
Another resident introduced me to her dog, Sammy, a companion, designated floor manager, and “shoe afficionado” as he likes to check out the shoes of every resident and visitor to the community. And I noted the cap perched at the door to a unit, where a “Tin Can Soldier,” a U.S. Navy Destroyer veteran, lives.
It felt like home.
Designers, developers, and architects expressed the privilege, honor, and the emotional currency they feel in creating senior living communities.
It’s my privilege also to be invited in, to learn and tell the often deeply personal stories at the heart of senior living design, and to chronicle what’s to come.
Robert McCune is senior editor at Environments for Aging and can be reached at [email protected].
