The evolution of senior living environments continues—slowly but surely—as evidenced by the 47 projects you’ll find in our upcoming 19th annual EFA Design Showcase. In January, we gathered our jury of 23 architects, interior designers, providers, researchers, and regulators in Naples, Fla., to comb through the 59 submissions we received, to determine which of those projects met the requirements necessary to be published in the Spring 2015 issue of Environments for Aging.
The jury, appointed by partner organizations the Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments, the International Interior Design Association, the Center for Health Design, and the American Society of Interior Designers, took their task seriously. The submissions themselves were quite detailed, each with pages full of descriptions, challenges, images, and site plans. And each juror was responsible for rating the projects in terms of innovation, collaboration, operational performance, aesthetics, and more. Once the 59 submissions were winnowed down (a virtual process), jury members met in person at Moorings Park in Naples—one of last year’s Award of Merit winners—to select those projects worthy of awards. We’re pleased to present four Award of Merit winners in 2015, two built projects and two still in the works, along with one Honorable Mention.
Thank you to all who entered this year’s competition, and to our jury for taking the time to share their expertise in the process. In the next couple of weeks, we'll be posting more articles on the winners, the jury process, and the trends and challenges revealed through this year's crop of entries.
