To renovate is to repurpose or revitalize a space to improve the experience of its users. However, renovation becomes a true art when changes are identified that go a step further—not just improving but creating a completely different user experience.
What will have the greatest impact on users’ perception of a space? Is it lighting, color, furnishings, or function? Each year, the Environments for Aging Remodel/Renovation Competition provides a forum for providers and their design teams to showcase how they approached the art of renovation and learn from peer endeavors.
This year’s category was resident amenities, which included many different areas from across the older adult continuum of care. The goal was to create spaces that promote socialization, engagement, and a sense of community. The most successful spaces are those that address changes to the physical environment while considering the operational or programmatic impact of the renovation, as well.
Following are some of the key trends observed from the submissions.
First Impressions. Improving the first impression of visitors and potential new community members was a priority for many submissions. The renovation efforts were focused on the main exterior approach and reception areas for the community. Typically, the submissions looked at adding features and amenities as part of the entry sequence—for example, including a dining option such as a grab-and-go bistro.
Culinary satisfaction. Food choices are a hot topic of conversation for older adults in continuing care retirement community (CCRC) settings and elicit both positive and negative comments. As a result, dining renovation submissions are consistently seen in the competition. This year is no different, with half of the submissions looking at increasing the variety of dining options and presenting residents with a choice of food types and service styles. Projects looked at providing pre-function spaces for residents to gather before a meal, in addition to at least two venue options with a formal and casual theme.
Keeping up with the Joneses. Market competition is often cited as a factor to promote renovation projects in a community. However, this year several submissions had a slightly different twist to the story. The market competition was not about a specific environmental feature but about a trend toward promoting person-centered care and providing elements of the physical environment to support it. The dining venue changes mentioned were often cited as a major physical environment change to support this type of approach.
Artificial lighting. One pervading theme throughout all of the “before” photos of the submissions was the lack of quantity and variety of artificial light fixtures. Many of the successful entries introduced different types of light fixtures and backdrops, as well as reflective walls and ceilings to warm a space with lighting and textured walls that produce variegated shadows for visual interest. Spaces with a variety of ceiling heights, materials, colors, textures, and shapes supplement the artificial lighting, as well. This is often one of the most cost-effective approaches that produce the highest impact in upgrading a space during the renovation process.
Memorable wayfinding and resident engagement. Community spaces such as restaurants, club rooms, and cafés are a great step in enhancing the quality of life for current and prospective members of a new CCRC. When those spaces are operationally incorporated by means of special events, weekly gatherings, happy hours, game nights, etc., members of the community begin to use these spaces on a regular basis.
Individuals will be inclined to remember specific locations in a community not by the ubiquitous signage or the informational reception areas, but by memorable experiences they once participated in with their friends and family. Getting a cup of coffee with “the girls” every Wednesday morning, having a cocktail with your spouse on the weekend, and spending time with visiting family members over a three-course meal at the campus restaurant are memorable events that enhance spaces’ perceived value.
Continuity of life. Renovation ideas that encourage residents to connect with the greater community through familiar experiences or stylistic expression are often the basis for success. Critical regionalism is an architectural concept that strives to create a place reminiscent of the local region, both from an architectural and contextual perspective.
This idea, especially when deployed in a CCRC, allows for a seamless transition for those moving into a community. For example, the culinary environments found in CCRCs–such as the popular bistros, cafes, and campus restaurants–become indistinguishable from their public cousins, easing the transition for new community members. Maintaining continuity of life for individuals desiring a move to a CCRC is smart, both from a marketing and quality of life perspective.
The renovation projects submitted ranged in cost and scale, but the impact was always the same: an improvement in the experience of residents, staff, and family members who use the spaces, with the art of the process evident in the previous space being unrecognizable in the new environment and an entirely new experience created.
The competition winners and highlights from all of the submissions entered in the 2014 Remodel/ Renovation Competition will be presented at the Environments for Aging Conference on April 19-21, 2015, in Baltimore.
Andrew Lee Alden is studio director for Eppstein Uhen Architects (Milwaukee), writing on behalf of the Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments (SAGE). He can be reached at [email protected]. Charlie Robertson is a project specialist for Eppstein Uhen Architects and can be reached at [email protected].
