Army Residence Community, San Antonio
Established in 1982 in San Antonio, Army Residence Community (ARC) is a nonprofit continuing care retirement community (CCRC).
The former lobby space lacked ample lighting. A(Image credit: All before photos courtesy of RLPS Architects and CJMW Interior Design)
Aiming to ensure its long-term success, the senior living community set out to modernize the community’s main lobby with a Texas Hill Country aesthetic to enhance resident comfort and satisfaction.
Working with RLPS Architects (Lancaster, Pa.) and CJMW Interior Design (Winston-Salem, N.C.), ARC sought input from community leadership and residents throughout the project to review design decisions and create an overarching theme of “Hill Country Elegance.”
Interior design strategy for Army Residence Community
The ARC team worked with community leadership and residents throughout the project to review design decisions. (Image credit: All before photos courtesy of RLPS Architects and CJMW Interior Design)
Earning a Bronze award in Environments for Aging’s 2024 Environments For Aging Remodel/Renovation Competition, the project features an overall warm aesthetic, including new lighting, wood ceiling beams, and a lighter finish palette to give the space a sense of openness.
The lobby renovation also addressed wayfinding, improving connections to amenity spaces and clarifying staff spaces. For example, a custom reception desk was added and administrative and security staff are located behind arched openings, making them readily available yet hidden from view.
Since opening, both residents and staff have expressed their appreciation of the new space for its improved functionality and appealing aesthetics.
One juror commended the project’s design: “The interior design and furnishings seem fitting for Texas and reinforce the architectural wayfinding cues. The design team had an in-depth, multipronged design process that included stakeholders with the residents, and it seems to have worked well. “
For more on the 2024 Remodel/Renovation awards, go here.
