Design Trends – Senior Living
The trend in senior living design has evolved past the traditional long-term care, medical model. Today’s elder communities are designed to promote wellness, independence, inclusivity, and foster social interaction and communication.
Here are some of the trends we are seeing in senior living design.
Intergenerational Communities
These communities intentionally blend generations by co-locating seniors with younger individuals, such as families with children or college students. Intergenerational communities foster connections and meaningful interactions between older adults and people of various ages, promoting a vibrant environment where wisdom meets youthful energy.
Functional Programming
Due to building code changes, there is increased flexibility in designing assisted living buildings, where improved guidelines focus on the resident and programming. They are classified into Care Mode Types (based on the size of the building) and whether they have centralized or de-centralized amenities and services based on the residents’ needs.
Affordable Mid-Market Communities
There is a significant gap in affordable housing options for older adults with middle incomes, who often don’t meet the threshold for low-income housing. With the number of middle-income adults seeking affordable housing likely to increase, developers are looking for ways to secure funding and keep construction costs down to fill the need and looking to designers to still provide a level of quality that the market bears and prospective tenants expect.
Staff Retention
Demanding workloads, inefficient workflows, inadequate facilities, and a lack of respite spaces can cause staff retention issues for senior living communities. Design including floor plans that improve workflows, comfortable and functional staff areas, and adequate amenities such as break rooms and rest areas can alleviate staff turnover. Some communities repurpose existing building stock for workforce housing. Designs must meet the programmatic needs of both the staff and the residents while maintaining operational efficiency for the organization.
Affinity-Based Communities
The projected increase in the elderly population, driven by longer life expectancies, also brings a changing demographic. We see an increase in affinity-based communities that cater to specific cultures, interests, or lifestyles, such as LGBTQ, faith-based, arts or creative-based, and active lifestyle communities. Purposed-based senior communities foster community service activities and engagement for active seniors that want to be involved.