New Projects

New Projects (Continued from page 23)

Claremont’s The Webb Schools Center

Page & Turnbull just completed a new project for The Webb Schools, a boarding school for grades 9 through 12 on a 150-acre campus in Claremont, Calif. The new Hooper Community Center preserves its historic architecture while “transforming the facility into a modern, inclusive hub for the school community with a bright, airy feel that maximizes the use of natural light,” according to The Webb Schools. The project is the most recent work in the 15-year collaboration between the noted architecture and preservation firm and The Webb Schools, an acclaimed secondary school founded in 1922. Originally built in 1931 as a gymnasium, the Spanish Revival style building has been reimagined by the design team led by architect John Lesak, principal-in-charge of Page & Turnbull’s Los Angeles office. The design adapts its two-level footprint by expanding and reorganizing its spaces to reflect the ways students and faculty gather and work. The space is flexible and inviting, accommodating one-on-one interactions, small-group activities, and community events.

The 6,500-square-foot redesign celebrates the original architectural elements. It includes Café 1175, clusters of gathering spaces, a welcome desk, and a large video wall for multiple gaming contests or community movie nights. The architects salvaged and reclaimed the maple gym flooring for built-in furnishings, new finishes and as flooring at different areas. “We also relocated and reused some of the non-historic art glass and designed the front of the welcome desk as an homage to the building’s roots as a basketball gym,” says Lesak.

New Apartment Facility Opens in LA County’s Duarte Station

Esperanza at Duarte Station, a new Class A 344-unit, five-story apartment community located in the Los Angeles County submarket of Duarte, recently began leasing. A project of MBK Rental Living, the studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment homes are 11 miles from downtown Pasadena and 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles along the vibrant Interstate I-210 corridor. Located on 4.3 acres at the intersection of Fasana Road and Highland Avenue, Esperanza is adjacent to the Duarte/City of Hope Metro Gold Line Station and offers residents luxury living with 12 floor plans ranging from 514 to 1,090 square feet, as well as a seven-anda-half story parking structure.

“As our growth continues throughout California, we are excited to extend our presence once more in Los Angeles County in the area of Duarte where MBK Rental Living will offer high-quality, luxury flats with expansive amenities that were designed for how our residents live,” said Ken McCarren, President of MBK Rental Living. Residents can enjoy unique rooftop amenities with dramatic views of the San Gabriel mountains, including a resort-style pool and spa; an indoor/outdoor casita with a living room lounge, fireplace, open dining room, and entertainers-style kitchen; a landscaped roof deck with poolside cabanas, outdoor TVs with entertainers’ bar, grilling stations, fire pit and lounge area; and a rooftop gimnasio with free weights, cardio and HIIT zones, and outdoor yoga.

Survey Finds Americans Rely on Handwashing for Health & Wellbeing Travel and Special Occasions Increase Hand Hygiene

While Americans don’t agree on much these days, the overwhelming majority do agree that handwashing is important. According to the Healthy Handwashing Survey™ from Bradley Corporation, 93% of adults believe handwashing is essential to maintaining their overall health — a sentiment that’s nearly universal across gender, age and geography. The survey also found that many Americans turn to handwashing to stay healthy before a trip, while they are traveling and before special occasions.

During road trips, 75% of adults make a conscious effort to wash their hands wherever they stop along the way. 69% are diligent about sudsing up when at an airport and 63% do the same as a special occasion or the holidays approach.

“Handwashing, using soap and warm water, is an easy and effective way to reduce the spread of disease-causing organisms,” says medical microbiologist Michael P. McCann, Ph.D., professor and chair of biology, Saint Joseph's University. “Given the ease with which some of these organisms can be spread on solid surfaces, in food, and by other means, handwashing is something that everyone should do after activities like using the restroom."

In addition to the physical benefits, there are emotional upsides. Almost 70% say they feel healthier or safer immediately after washing their hands. (See box below: Handwashing Personas.)

Negative Impressions

There are definitely drawbacks to the “Skip It All” approach. The survey found that 65% of Americans have a particularly negative impression when they see someone

Handwashing Personas

who doesn’t wash their hands after using a restroom. 40% say someone who frequently touches their nose, mouth or eyes is also a turn off. For businesses, poor restroom maintenance makes more than just a negative impression; an unclean or unpleasant restroom can be a sales inhibitor. 52% say an unkempt restroom impacts whether or not they’ll return to the establishment again.

On the flip side, nearly 60% say they are likely to spend more at a business that has clean, well-maintained restrooms and the same percent will make a point of stopping at a location that offers pleasant facilities.

Germ Avoidance Techniques

In public restrooms, Americans are keenly aware of coming into contact with germs and take a variety of evasive measures.

62% use a paper towel to avoid touching toilet flushers and faucet and door handles. 43% operate the flusher with their foot, especially women. 31% hover over the toilet seat and 27% open and close doors with their behind to eliminate contact.

With so much effort going into evading germs, it’s no wonder that 82% of adults believe it is important to have touchless fixtures in a public restroom.

“Germ avoidance and handwashing diligence are two habits that should always be a priority, and businesses can support hand hygiene by providing well-maintained restrooms,” says Jon Dommisse, vice president of marketing and corporate communication for Bradley Corp. “No matter where you are or what you’re doing, everyone should lather up, scrub thoroughly, rinse and dry their hands.” u 51% categorize themselves as “Rule Followers.” They apply soap, lather it up, scrub completely, rinse and then dry. u 35% put themselves in the “Lather and Linger” group, meaning they do a very thorough job of lathering and washing. u 33% relate to “Twice as Good,” saying they always use two pumps of soap. u 20% utilize the “Human Dryer” method of wiping their hands on their clothing after washing and 17% selected “Air It Out,” admitting they wash but rely on air drying. Finally, two categories made the bottom of the list. 14% self-identified as “Rinse and Run,” using just water but forgoing soap and drying and 3% put themselves in the “Skip It All” camp due to not having time to wash their hands.

To get a better understanding of Americans’ handwashing routines, the Healthy Handwashing Survey asked respondents to identify their typical behavior.

The annual Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley Corp. queried 1,025 American adults Jan. 4-10, 2023, about their handwashing habits, concerns about the coronavirus and flu and their use of public restrooms. Participants were from around the country and were fairly evenly split between men (45%) and women (55%). Photo courtesy of Bradley Corporation.