Intergenerational - Cal Poly SLO Landscape Architecture Senior Project

INTERGENERATIONAL HEALTH-ORIENTED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR INCREASING OLDER ADULT POPULATIONS Jordan Chiang | Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | Prof. David Watts | 2021

Contents Project Information 02 Site Inventory Project Research

14 56

Design Process 74 Design Development 120 Bibliography and Conclusion 178

Project Information Mission Statement 04 Project Introduction 05 Problem Identification 08 Project Approach 10

MISSION STATEMENT As the global population shifts to be increasingly comprised of senior citizens, older adult care is becoming a key social, economic, and spatial issue. In order to improve health outcomes and change the way we address aging in the landscape, this project proposes a shift towards intergenerational communities focused on intergenerational spaces. Through the development of an integrated senior living community and public open space, this project will serve as a case study on inclusive, community-oriented, contemporary older adult care.

04 | Project Information

PROJECT INTRODUCTION Older adults constitute a proportion of the population that is growing rapidly, a demographic shift which is projected to surpass the current capacity of care facilities and infrastructure.

At the same time, there is a persistent societal perception of older adult care options as simply ‘places to die’ – many families across the US go through a feeling of ‘saying goodbye’ even before their loved one passes away. The experience of having to place a parent or grandparent in an assisted living facility when there are no other options available is almost universal in modern society. Looking at the intersection between these two elements, we are met with the issue of a potentially overloaded healthcare system, and a reluctance to use it until health issues become severe.

These issues are not confined to a single city or region, and will be a national and global concern in the coming decades. Thus, this project will take a case study approach, focusing on the application and synthesis of principles of design for older adults to a selected site. While the site’s current features will still influence the design, the primary driver for design decisions will be those considerations for older adults.

The selected site is the San Gabriel Country Club and Golf Course in San Gabriel, CA, chosen for its multiple preferable context conditions and demographic trends parallel to national projections. San Gabriel, CA is a suburban city located approximately 10 miles east of Los Angeles, part of the expansive sprawl surrounding the urban heart of Southern California. It is also notably an ‘ethnoburb,’ a suburban city with a majority-minority population and a culture focused on the specific experience of second and third-generation immigrant families. In the site selection process, these suburban and ‘ethnoburban’ conditions were both important factors. With urban population growth projected to continue at an accelerated rate over the next few decades, support through

adaptation of public space and infrastructure will be key. Additionally, San Gabriel is characterized by its 60% Asian-American demographic, providing an opportunity to explore cultural sensitivity and awareness in an increasingly diverse country.

Furthermore, the primarily Chinese-American community provides the additional opportunity to address stigma surrounding older adult care options, as negative attitudes towards nursing homes and assisted living run even stronger in these cultures. Finally, the city displays a large proportion of older adults that is set to increase significantly over the next 30 years, once again reflecting the national trends.

For the specific site selection, the San Gabriel Country Club and Golf Course is one of the largest preserved open spaces in the Los Angeles ethnoburbs. However, the argument can be made that the current use of the land is not the most efficient, nor is it achieving the greatest amount of good for the community.

With the popularity and profitability of golf in decline, the wastefulness of having such a large open space be entirely private with no benefit to the surrounding community becomes much more glaring. Additionally, this site presents multiple opportunities for connection to and enhancement of the urban fabric, including alignment with a major economic corridor, intersection with a channelized wash, and proximity to many cultural and social resources.

This project will take advantage of these varied opportunities in the design and development of a new, integrated senior living community.

Incorporating public open space and mixeduse development, in addition to assisted living and older adult residential options, this project will help address the growing senior population while also working to improve health outcomes of the general population over the next few decades.

Project Introduction | 05

Glendale San Gabriel

Los Angeles Santa Monica ~10 mi

Whittier

Torrance ~25 mi Sources: Google Earth Pro.

REGIONAL SCALE

LOCAL SCALE

As part of the greater Los Angeles area, San Gabriel is a city that provides the opportunity to design in a suburban context, allowing the design to be applicable in many other locations as well. Additionally, the ethnically diverse and significant older adult populations are reflective of the projected national trends of increasing diversity and booming senior populations.

The project site is the current San Gabriel Country Club and Golf Course. Despite being the largest open space in the immediate vicinity, it is essentially inaccessible to the community that surrounds it, and does not directly serve the larger majority of San Gabriel residents.

06 | Project Information

San Marino

East San Gabriel

Project Site

San Gabriel

Alhambra

Rosemead

Monterey Park

Project Introduction | 07

Millions of People

100

65+

Rapidly Growing Older Adult (65+) Population

80

In the next few decades, projections show a widespread demographic shift in which older adults will constitute a much larger proportion of the general population. This is largely due to the aging of the baby boomer cohort, as well as improved understandings in healthcare and medical treatment.

60 40

85+

20 0

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

2040

2060

Years

Source: https://agingstats.gov/docs/LatestReport/Older-Americans-2016-Key-Indicators-of-WellBeing.pdf

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION The problem that this project seeks to address is the social isolation and separation of older adults from the rest of modern American society, as well as the future socioeconomic strain that the boom in older adult populations will place on the infrastructure dedicated to them.

Looking at the causes of these problems, one of the most major demographic trends in the near future is the rapid expansion of the senior citizen population group. This shift largely stems from the aging of the ‘Baby Boomer’ cohort, as well as improvements in understanding health and lifestyle choices (Bartlett, 2020). The transition to a majority senior citizen population threatens to overwhelm current economic, sociocultural, and physical resources, if the current standards of addressing aging and older adults are not reevaluated and modernized.

Additionally, isolation of older adults is enforced by societal perceptions of aging founded in the American socioeconomic system – older adults are often marginalized and ignored because of the subconscious tendency of the general population to avoid topics that remind them of their mortality (Bartlett, 2020). Ageism manifests physically in the way we currently house older adult populations, and while there are also aspects of generational differences in views and other

08 | Project Information

issues, the truth of the matter is that the general American population is not older-adult-friendly.

The effects of these issues can already be seen, and will only continue to worsen if improved design solutions are not realized. In many nursing homes and senior living communities, current forms of care are not meeting the quality-of-life needs that allow people to live with dignity. This in turn results in worsening mental health of older adults, and decreased trust in caregiving operations by family members.

Combined with the way that many older adult care facilities seclude residents and render them societally invisible, the current model of care is not conducive to dignified and high-quality final years. Another symptom of this situation is caregiver burnout; there are many cases in which older adults actually outlive their family-based caregiver due to excess stress and unhealthy coping mechanisms of the caregiver, and even when that is not the case, significant strain can be placed on caregivers when adequate resources are not available (Couturie & Sandkuhler, 2009).

Finally, there is a point to be made about the current COVID-19 pandemic, and any potential future pandemic events that may occur.

Understanding how the vulnerable senior citizen demographic can still be integrated with the surrounding community in a safe and conscious way will be one of the big challenges of this project. Families have not been able to visit

loved ones in older adult care facilities, for fear that the virus will spread rapidly to the residents as it has in a handful of cases. The isolation and changes in the way care is received during the pandemic have been shown to have negative effects on older adult health, so this, too, will be something that altering the physical model of older adult care may be able to improve.

Negative societal attitudes towards aging manifest in the ways older adult health is addressed, resulting in worsened long-term health outcomes.

Ageism Beliefs, attitudes, and actions that constitute discrimination based on chronological age. While there is no single defined cause, ageism is sometimes attributed to a subconscious fear of reminders of mortality.

Inadequate Care Infrastructure The rapid increase in older adult populations threatens to soon surpass the current capacity of care facilities and infrastructure. This is largely due to a current focus on reactive treatment, rather than proactive preventative approaches.

Isolation and Separation In many older adult care facilities, residents are secluded and rendered societally invisible. This leads to worsened mental health for both residents and their families, and is not conducive to a dignified aging process.

Problem Identification | 09

PROJECT APPROACH By proactively utilizing the impacts public space can have on all aspects of health, this project will explore designed spaces that foster intergenerational connections, spaces that are inclusive and address the needs of a wider range of demographics. Additionally, by blending the very private, very healthcare-oriented spaces of older adult care facilities with the idea of public open space, this project can adapt principles of universal design for the benefit of all. Often, these inclusive design practices are strictly limited to hospital gardens and isolated senior living communities, but by bringing them out into landscapes for the public, this project can move further than simple compliance with the American Disabilities Act – it can improve health and awareness of the physical dimensions of health for the greater community. Connecting ideas of health, nature, space, and interaction, we can create places that truly enrich the livelihood of communities.

In order to address these needs, this project will follow a two-pronged method.

First, it will address the needs of current and immediately incoming old-older adults, generally those who already require assistance in activities of daily living or will undoubtedly require that assistance in the near future. This will be done through responsive treatments and integration of spaces, residences, and programs that support improvements in physical, social, and mental health. Traditional landscape spaces for older adults, such as therapeutic gardens, private courtyards, and other medically-oriented spaces will be utilized, but so will principles of intergenerational interaction. Bridging the gap between old-older adults and other generations improves health conditions for both parties, and will be supported through the implementation of volunteer and work opportunities, mentor opportunities, and a physical environment that is conducive to these interactions.

10 | Project Information

There are multiple examples of cultures in which older adults are instead seen as the resources of knowledge and life experience that they are, in which the strengths of each generation are integrated into society in order to result in mutual benefits. This project will take advantage of these synergies, by strategically pairing different programmatic elements in ways that bring together people of different ages in a safe and organic matter, rather than segregating and shutting people away. Thus, intergenerational interaction will play a major role in the project, connecting older adults as a community resource and reinforcing the educational system.

Second, it will address the long-term needs of the community for preventative healthoriented physical infrastructure, so as to decrease the future load on the healthcare system. By providing public open spaces and a hub for community interaction, the health of younger and middle-aged residents can be improved earlier on in life. Over time, the focus of the project will shift in accordance with the compression of morbidity, from a responseoriented facility to a more prevention-oriented complex. This is not to say that old-older adult care will be phased out; it simply means that as health expectancy of the population increases, the amount of resources that can be allocated to programming and public spaces does as well.

From an economic standpoint, preventative healthcare measures for older adults are a way that issues of economic stress caused by greater senior citizen populations can be solved.

With current studies showing that the vast majority of healthcare spending is on reactive, responsive treatments, investing in healthimproving infrastructure and spaces earlier on in the lifespan of individuals can be seen as a way to decrease the total amount of healthcare spending (Jencek, 2020). By incorporating these proactive approaches into the daily lives of the general public, this project can achieve a future decreased load on intensive healthcare needs of older adults.

Finally, ecological restoration and education will serve as an additional underlying theme to the project. The current golf course monoculture not only has the potential to be infinitely more biodiverse, it also can potentially become a large bonus of carbon sequestering space for the city.

Surrounded by urban sprawl, the actual amount of green space is fairly limited in this context, so improving the environmental functionality of this site would be a major improvement to the city as a whole. The channelized Rubio Wash, mentioned previously, presents an enormous opportunity to serve as both an ecologically functioning space as well as an educational and recreational community benefit.

Project Approach | 11

SIMPLIFIED TRADITIONAL MODEL Older adults are kept invisible, isolated, and hidden, and senior living facilities function largely as islands - separated physically and culturally from the rest of society.

Public

Private

Family Members Youths

Older Adults Medical Professionals

General Population

12 | Project Information

Caregivers

INTERGENERATIONAL MODEL By providing spaces that facilitate intergenerational interaction and relationship building, benefits can be derived for both older adults and the community as a whole.

Public

Combined

Private

Family Members Youths

General Population Intergenerational Spaces

Older Adults

Medical Professionals

Young Families

Caregivers

Project Approach | 13

Site Inventory Human-Made Features 16 Sociocultural and Psychological 28 Natural Systems 40 Qualitative and Aesthetic 54

Human-Made Features LOCAL CIRCULATION (See p. 18 for examples)

Junipero Serra Dr

major road 4-6 lanes heavy traffic

16 | Site Inventory

minor road 2 lanes moderate traffic

proposed bike lane

bus stop

Sources: Google Earth Pro, ArcGIS Online.

e ar Av

Del M

Lon g

den

Ave

Project Site

Sa He

rm

La s

Tu n

as

osa

lvd

el B

bri n Ga

Dr

Dr

The project site shares edges with two major roads that have four or more lanes and experience large volumes of traffic. It is also bounded on all edges by more minor roads, and is cut through on the southern portion by Hermosa Dr. Additionally, planning documents indicate a proposal to add designated bike lanes to the major road on the southern edge of the site. Finally, there are multiple bus stops at key site intersections and in the immediate vicinity.

Human-Made Features | 17

WALKABILITY AND RESOURCES (See p. 18 for examples)

education center

18 | Site Inventory

religious center

grocery store

healthcare + safety

economic corridor

Sources: Google Earth Pro.

Project Site

5 min walk

10 min walk

15 min walk

The southern edge of the site sits on a main economic corridor of the City of San Gabriel, with direct access to multiple resources such as supermarkets, banks, a post office, and religious centers. The site is also in proximity with a variety of different healthcare practitioners, including a major hospital and a handful of traditional medicine businesses. Finally, there are many schools, education centers, and youth-oriented spaces within walking distance of the site.

Human-Made Features | 19

Major Roads - Four or six-lane, larger volumes of traffic

Minor Roads - Two-lane, mostly residential roads

Bus Stops - Range from single benches to stops with elaborate shade structures

Economic Corridor - Small shops, retail, restaurants, shopping centers

20 | Site Inventory

Sources: Personal photos, Google Earth Pro Street View.

Education Centers - Elementary schools, church schools, youth centers

Grocery Stores - Mostly Asian supermarkets and ethnic grocery stores

Religious Centers - Churches

Healthcare + Safety - Hospitals, pharmacies, Eastern medicine businesses, fire station

Human-Made Features | 21

ACCESS + INTERIOR CIRCULATION

Hermosa Dr

vehicular pedestrian/golf cart Las Tunas Dr.

access point

22 | Site Inventory

ACCESS POINTS IMAGERY Vehicular Access - Gates at south end, large formal entry from E. Hermosa Dr.

Pedestrian / Golf Cart Access - Entry from E. Hermosa Dr.

Maintenance Access - Outer boundary gates

The main, formal points of vehicular access to the site occur twice at the southernmost edge and once in the center of Hermosa Dr. Other access points are either for pedestrian/golf-cart access, or for maintenance use. Defined circulation within the interior of the site is not extensive, with most of the formal paths occurring at the southern end of the site around the clubhouse. Across the site, there are a handful of isolated stretches of pathway for utilization by golf players.

Sources: Personal photos, Google Earth Pro Street View.

Human-Made Features | 23

FENCING + UTILITIES

major fencing minor fencing utilities functional structure

24 | Site Inventory

FENCING + UTILITIES IMAGERY Functional Structures - Storage towers, channel, sign

Major - Tall hedges and walls

Minor - Chainlink and standard fencing

Utilities - Power lines, fire hose, sewer lines

The boundaries of the site are generally well-maintained, with no significant holes or stretches without some form of fencing. Most of the site has hedges or screens well above 6’, but there are areas where the fencing is lower or is easy to see through. Functional structures include what appear to be storage towers, a city sign, and the channelized Rubio Wash. Utilities include power lines that run along the edge of the site on the northeast side and interior south-facing edges, as wellas sewer line access and a fire hose at the south end.

Sources: Personal photos, Google Earth Pro Street View.

Human-Made Features | 25

BUILDINGS + PAVING

clubhouse other building paved area

26 | Site Inventory

BUILDINGS + PAVING IMAGERY Clubhouse - Main building at southern end (41,193 sf)

Other Buildings - Snack shacks (675 sf each), golf cart maintenance (2,652 sf, 620 sf)

Paving - Parking lot, concrete paths (total 225,576 sf, 4% of site area)

The largest and most utilized building is the clubhouse, located on the south end of the site. From the street, most of what can be seen is maintenance and back-of-house operations, but from inside the country club property the members’ view is well-kept. Other buildings on-site include two small ‘snack shacks’ which provide food and beverages to current users, as well as a golf cart maintenance and storage area. Paving on the site includes the parking lot, the Rubio Wash, and select sections of pathways through the course. Many of these are segments of concrete that are connected by longer stretches of dirt pathways.

Sources: Personal photos, Google Earth Pro Street View, www.sangabrielcc.com, Sources: www.golfadelphia.com

Human-Made Features | 27

Sociocultural and Psychological ZONING As of 2016, the zoning for the site is listed as single family residence / country club (R1-CC). The surrounding R1-CC properties follow the standard appearance of suburban single-family homes. Multiple family residence areas (R-3) adjacent to the site and nearby are typically low-rise apartment developments on larger than average lots. There are not significant differences between the ways that mixed-use / transitoriented development (MU/T), mixed-use corridor (MU/C), commercial + light manufacturing (C-3), and retail commercial (C-1) appear to have been developed. Overall, most areas that have the zoning to be mixed-use developments do not appear to have undertaken that process, instead opting to maintain a primarily small-business focused model.

R1-CC Single Family / C. Club

R-3 Multiple Family Residence

R-1 Single Family Residence

MU/T Mixed-Use Transit

R-1A Two-Family Residence

M-1 Light Manufacturing

C-3 Commerical + Manufac.

C-1 Retail Commercial

MU/C Mixed-Use Corridor

28 | Site Inventory

Project Site

Sources: Google Earth Pro Street View, Map Credit: https://sangabrielcity.com

Sociocultural and Psychological | 29

ADJACENT LAND USES

single family retail / business church / school low-rise apartment

30 | Site Inventory

ADJACENT LAND USES + ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES Single-Family Residences

Retail / Businesses

Churches / Schools

Low-Rise Apartments

The majority of adjacent properties are single-family residences typical of a suburban community. There are also single and two-story businesses, combined church-schools, and a few small low-rise apartments.

The residential and church properties generally are very well-maintained and show a high level of care.

Out of all of these, the category with the least appealing street-fronts were the businesses, which appear to have not paid much attention to any presentation of outdoor green space. On the other hand, while the businesses and the economic corridor do have some degree of maintenance, the level of care is somewhat lower.

Sources: Personal photos, Google Earth Pro, Street View.

Sociocultural and Psychological | 31

San Marino

East San Gabriel

Project Site

site context San Gabriel

Rosemead

public open space joint-use space lacking access mixed use opportunity

32 | Site Inventory

OPEN SPACE AND MIXED USE OPPORTUNITIES Based on analysis of city planning documents, the site has been determined as a specific open space opportunity. On the map to the left, areas with no direct access to public parks or school open spaces are shown in purple, while areas with limited access to schools with Joint-Use Agreements are shown in yellow. High-functioning public open spaces and the areas they serve are shown in green. Situated in an area with no access, the site provides an opportunity to improve quality of life for many nearby residents. Finally, shown in orange, planning documents specify the southern edge of the site, among other locations, as an area with a need for improved mixed-use utilization.

Existing Public Open Spaces

AREA PERCENTAGE This 106-acre site represents 3% of the total acreage of the City of San Gabriel (2,654 acres). Out of those 2,654 acres, only 1% (26 acres) is public open space, which is extremely low compared to the National Park and Recreation Association recommendation of 15% (400 acres). Thus, this site presents a large opportunity to move closer to that standard in a city with few land resources available.

SENSORY PERCEPTION While the site itself is certainly well kept and beautiful, it is also very much a space centered around the experience of wealthy white individuals. In its current condition, it is pointedly not inviting to outsiders, and is essentially based on a core value of exclusivity. The experience of the site is not specifically hostile or negative in any sense, but it is not welcoming nor is it especially comfortable for a middle class, minority individual.

Sources: Google Earth Pro, Image Credits: www.sangabrielcity.com

Sociocultural and Psychological | 33

TIMELINE

1880 Gervais Purcell buys Rancho Las Tunas and sells the majority as lots for houses.

1830 City expansion pushes the mission lands to be broken up, 675 acres of which became ‘Rancho Las Tunas.’

Original Inhabitants The Tongva are the indigenous peoples of the Los Angeles Basin.

Present-day San Gabriel sits on the Tongva village of Shevaanga.

1771 The San Gabriel Mission is founded. Significant oppression of indigenous peoples ensues, with military and religious enforcement of territorial administration policy.

Sources: www.golfhistoricalsociety.org, www.gabrielinotribe.org, www.smbasblog.com, www.kcet.org, www.sfgate.com, www.latimes.com, www.imdiversity.com, www.lacountylibrary.org.

34 | Site Inventory

1904 Gervais Purcell founds the San Gabriel Country Club on the purchased Rancho Las Tunas land, William Robertson lays out golf course.

1913 San Gabriel is incorporated.

1970 The of trend of white emigration and significant Chinese immigration begins. ‘Ethnoburbs’ form based on a preference for the authenticity of communities in the suburban San Gabriel Valley.

2000 San Gabriel develops a reputation as a destination for Chinese tourists. A local identity around the 626 area code strengthens, and there is an ongoing explosion of youth culture focused on the experience of second and third generation Asian Americans.

Sociocultural and Psychological | 35

DEMOGRAPHICS Age Distribution

Percentage of Population

18.2%

native-born median age:

25

of the total population is under 18 years old

16%

population median age:

41

12%

8%

4%

0%

5 - 17

<5

18 - 24

25 - 34

35 - 44

45 -

Age Range Country of Origin

Time of Immigration

8%

6% 12 %

10 %

%

60%

25%

45%

35

%

Asian Hispanic White Other

36 | Site Inventory

17%

%

12

Native-Born China, Taiwan Other Asia Southeast Asia Latin America Other

62

Race

Pre-1990 1990-99 2000-09 2010+

Sources: www.census.gov, www.datausa.io, www.animateddemographics.com, www.sangabrielcity.com, www.advancingjustice-aajc.org, www.neighborhoodscout.com

18%

foreign-born median age:

50

The City of San Gabriel displays an aging population similar to the national trend, with a significantly higher proportion of middle-aged and older adults being of a foreign birthplace.

of the total population is over 65 years old

% of total population % of population that is foreign-born % of population that is native-born

- 54

55 - 64

65 - 74

National Comparison

33

27 .2 %

Language Spoken

75+

.9%

38.9%

English Only Chinese Other

The Asian American population in the San Gabriel Valley is larger than it is in states.

42

Sociocultural and Psychological | 37

Population

Education

94.1%

79% are high school graduates

of households have a computer

32.3% have a bachelor’s degree

39,899 individuals

77.3% are citizens

Households

Income

12,063 households

3.3

avg. people per household

44.6%

owner-occupied

Businesses

7,839 firms

38 | Site Inventory

$57,863

is the median household income, with a per-capita income of

$26,599 12.3%

Median Value

live below the poverty line

$659.5k 3,547 3,450 6,981

men-owned firms women-owned firms

minority-owned firms

19,571 total employees

Transportation

76.6%

Sources: www.census.gov, www.datausa.io, www.sangabrielcity.com

drive alone

12.4%

4.1%

carpool

work from home

28.8 min average travel time to work Healthcare

86.8% have healthcare coverage

37.3% employee plans

1391:1

29.5% Medicaid 8.35 Medicare

patient to clinician ratio

11.2% non-group plans 0.41% military plans

Site Social Media Out of the top 200 Instagram posts geo-tagged at the site,

Striking a Pose - 18.5%

Cars - 5.5%

Pets - 2.5%

2/3

of posts were of activities other than golf.

Thus, conversion of the site to combined public open space and older adult care facilities would not be a major impact on the urban fabric, as the majority of posted uses of the site can still continue without the golf course.

It should be noted that any social media analysis would not be able to fully cover the opinions of the general public about the site, as the site is currently private - the only people posting about it are those who have paid for entry.

Food - 10.5%

Golf - 33%

Special Events - 30%

Sources: https://www.instagram.com

Sociocultural and Psychological | 39

Natural Systems

Sources: www.myweather2.com, www.theweathernetwork.com, www.usclimatedata.com, www.currentresults.com, www.timeanddate.com, www.areavibes.com

CLIMATE Temperature High (ºF)

76º

69

68

yearly avg.

Low (ºF)

57º

yearly avg.

49

50

Jan

Feb

73

70

53

55

Mar

Apr

74

59

May

78

61

Jun

84

82

65

83

65

64

Aug

Jul

Sep

79

60

Oct

78

54

Nov

68

49

Dec

Extreme Weather Months Wettest (1.45” rainfall)

Hottest (75ºF)

Coldest (58ºF)

Precipitation = 1 inch

3.83” per year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Air Quality

72

Average AQI CA: 55 USA: 50

40 | Site Inventory

139

mil Pollution Index CA: 18m USA: 5m

66

days with good AQ

208

days with moderate AQ

62

days with poor AQ for sensitive groups

28

days with unhealthy AQ

Wind

Sources: www.weatherspark.com, www.windfinder.com, www.andrewmarsh.com, www.suncalc.com

Primary direction:

West

Windy season: Nov - Apr

6.9

mph avg. speed Calm season: May - Oct

5.3

mph avg. speed

ENE WSW

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

N

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Jan

Feb

Sun / Shade Pattern - Summer and winter solstices, modeled with clubhouse height at 20.’

SS - 1 hr after sunrise (5:40 AM) Shadow Length - 99.8’

SS - Noon (12:00 PM) Shadow Length - 5.64’

SS - 1 hr before sunset (6:10 PM) Shadow Length - 107.6’

WS - 1 hr after sunrise (7:55 AM) Shadow Length - 115.7’

WS - Noon (12:00 PM) Shadow Length - 30.9’

WS - 1 hr before sunset (3:45 PM) Shadow Length - 114.4’

Natural Systems | 41

TOPOGRAPHY

500

0

50

0 48 460

440

42 | Site Inventory

TOPOGRAPHY IMAGERY Golf Course Topographic Changes - Mounds, hills, depressions

While the site is generally flat, not exceeding a 2% slope, there are two main exceptions. The first is the assortment of smalll hills, mounds, and depressions made for the golf course. The second is the Rubio Wash channel. Outside of that, the site slopes southward, with the furthest north point at an elevation of 500 feet and the furthest south point at an elevation of 440 feet.

Sources: Personal photos, www.viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer, www.golfadelphia.com

Natural Systems | 43

Project Site

HUC 18070104

HUC 18070105

HUC 18070106

Sources: Google Earth Pro. Data Credits: www.waterboards.ca.gov, www.water.usgs.gov.

WATERSHED This site is part of the Los Angeles River Watershed (HUC #18070105), which contains 824 square miles that drain to the Pacific Ocean. It is responsible for 0.02% of the total runoff. While it is not located along any major tributaries, a minor channel named the Rubio Wash runs through the middle of the site.

44 | Site Inventory

RUBIO WASH On average, the Rubio Wash channel is 8 feet deep, and has been labeled by the city as a future opportunity site. In total, the Rubio Wash is 26,765 feet long, with the section running through the site measuring 2,902 feet. Examination of the rest of the wash revealed that the sum of current sections in public open space is 2,388 feet. This means that converting the site to public use would more than double the length of publicly accessible sections.

Diagram and Imagery of Rubio Wash

Sources: Personal photos, Google Earth Pro, www.golfadelphia.com

Natural Systems | 45

SOILS

#1138

Project Site

#1002 Sources: www.websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov, www.casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu

Soil Type The site is entirely comprised of soil type #1138, but has soil type #1002 adjacent to it. #1138 Urban land - Azuvina-Montebello complex, 0-5%

#1002 Urban land - Palmview-Tujunga complex, 0-5%

Azuvina-Montebello complex soils are very deep, well-drained soils formed in old alluvium weathered from granitic sources and human transported materials on graded alluvial fans from granitic sources. They are utilized in urban residential development and commercial areas, and are planted with maintained landscapes, lawns, and ornamentals in urban areas, and assorted native vegetation in uncultivated areas. The soil becomes moist at 30cm, and typically ranges from 17-20ºC.

Palmview-Tujunga complex soils are very deep, sometimes excessively-drained soils formed in alluvium weathered from granitic sources and human transported materials on graded alluvial fans from granitic sources. They are utilized for grazing and fruit-growing, and are often planted with turf or ornamentals in urban residential or commercial areas. There is little to no runoff due to the excessive draining. The soil becomes moist at 30cm, and typically ranges from 16-20ºC.

46 | Site Inventory

Sources: https://koordinates.com/layer/97126-california-liquefaction-zones/

Project Site

Potential Liquefaction Areas

Liquefaction Blue areas above show portions of Los Angeles County that may be at higher risk of liquefaction, earthquake-induced landslides, or the combined effects of both, in the case of a strong earthquake event. The project site is not located in an earthquake hazard risk area.

Natural Systems | 47

TREES MAP U. parvifolia, C. citriodora, M. quinquinervia, P. canariensis along edge

P. canariensis, U. parvifolia along edge

P. canariensis, U. parvifolia, M. grandiflora, P. racemosa, A. cordata, J. mimosifolia in interior C. speciosa, P. undulatum at edge M. quinquinervia, Q. agrifolia, U. parvifolia, A. falcatus, P. canariensis L. styraciflua in interior M. quinquinervia, Q. agrifolia along edge Q. agrifolia, A. cordata, P. racemosa, Fraxinus, P. canariensis, Q. ilex, L. styraciflua, G. robusta in interior E. globulus (two) A. falcatus (singular) A. cordata, G. robusta, L. styraciflua in interior Lagerstroemia (multip.)

C. citriodora (singular) M. grandiflora (singular) G. robusta along edge P. henkelii along edge F. microcarpa, S. romanzoffiana, Q. agrifolia at entrance

48 | Site Inventory

U. parvifolia, Q. ilex, J. mimosifolia, Fraxinus, Q. agrifolia along edge T. palmeri (singular) Q. agrifolia, P. racemosa in interior Fraxinus, P. canariensis, C. cunninghamiana, Q. agrifolia along edge T. palmeri (singular) M. grandiflora (singular) P. undulatum, U. parvifolia in interior U. parvifolia (multip.)

E. globulus, A. falcatus, U. parvifolia in interior P. canariensis border C. cunninghamiana B. pendula (multip.)

P. canariensis, C. cunninghamiana, U. parvifolia border P. canariensis, J. mimosifolia at edge

TREES

Sources: Self-identification, www.sangabrielcity.com

Fern Pine Afrocarpus falcatus

Italian Alder Alnus cordata

European White Birch Betula pendula

River She-Oak Casuarina cunninghamiana

Floss Silk Tree Ceiba speciosa

Lemon-Scented Gum Corymbia citriodora

Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus

Indian Laurel Fig Ficus microcarpa

Ash Tree Fraxinus sp.

Silk Oak Grevillea robusta

Jacaranda Jacaranda mimosifolia

Crape Myrtle Lagerstroemia sp.

Natural Systems | 49

TREES (CONT.) Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua

Southern Magnolia Magnolia grandiflora

Paperbark Melaleuca Melaleuca quinquinervia

Canary Island Pine Pinus canariensis

Victorian Box Tree Pittosporum undulatum

California Sycamore Platanus racemosa

Yew Pine Podocarpus henkelii

Coast Live Oak Quercus agrifolia

Holly Oak Quercus ilex

Queen Palm Syagrus romanzoffiana

Pink Trumpet Tree Tabebuia palmeri

Evergreen Elm Ulmus parvifolia

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SHRUBS AND PERENNIALS

Sources: Self-identification, www.sangabrielcity.com

Glossy Abelia Abelia grandiflora

Lily of the Nile Agapanthus sp.

Lavender Trumpet Vine Bignonia callistegioides

Bougainvillea Bougainvillea sp.

Lemon-Scented Bottlebrush Callistemon citrinus

Natal Plum Carissa macrocarpa

Fortnight Lily Dietes iridioides

Creeping Fig Ficus pumila

Yellow Rockrose Halimium sp.

Algerian Ivy Hedera canariensis

Daylily Hemerocallis sp.

Japanese Privet Ligustrum japonicum

Natural Systems | 51

SHRUBS AND PERENNIALS (CONT.) Japanese Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica

Heavenly Bamboo Nandina domestica

Oleander Nerium oleander

Pygmy Date Palm Phoenix roebelenii

Mock Orange Pittosporum tobira ‘variegata’

Cape Plumbago Plumbago auriculata

Indian Hawthorn Rhaphiolepis indica

Rose Rosa sp.

Cape Honeysuckle Tecoma capensis

Star Jasmine Trachelospermum jasminoides

Laurustinus Viburnum tinus

Shiny Xylosma Xylosma congestum

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WILDLIFE

Sources: Self-identification, www.sangabrielcity.com

House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus

Mourning Dove Zenaidia macroura

American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos

California Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Anna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna

Peafowl Pavo linnaeus

California Ground Squirrel Spermophilus beecheyi

Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana

California Valley Coyote Canis latrans ochropus

Southern California Skunk Mephitis mephitis ssp. holzneri

Western Fence Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis

Natural Systems | 53

Qualitative and Aesthetic VIEWS AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

positive view negative view open space

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Basemap Credit: Google Earth Pro, Image Credits: www.sangabrielcc.com, www.golfadelphia.com

VIEWS IMAGERY

The main positive view visible from the site is the northward view of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is visible from most parts of the site, and is significant in that it really cannot be seen to this level of unobstruction from any other outdoor space in the area. Negative views include the previously mentioned golf cart station and storage towers, as well as construction projects across Las Tunas Dr.

As this is a golf course, the spatial organization of the site is largely based on the golf hole sequence.

The outdoor rooms framed by trees are generally long and winding, but the tree screens are very much visually porous. The site as a whole is fairly closed off and inward focused, and does not have any significant blending with the suburban context around it.

Qualitative and Aesthetic | 55

Project Research Case Studies 58 Theoretical Constructs 68

Case Study - Jin Wellbeing County Location: Khlong Neung, Pathum Thani, Thailand | Year: 2020 | Type: Senior-Oriented Mixed-Use | Context: Urban Firms: Shma Company Limited (Landscape), Openbox Architects (Architecture)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Jin Wellbeing County is a recent project that seeks to rethink how communities are organized in order to address the growing older adult population. It focuses on principles of “sustainable nature, physical wellbeing, and sense of community” (shmadesigns.com). Sustainable nature is achieved through the integration of stormwater management, including a central stream and a reservoir. Additionally, plant materials were selected and organized in a way that emulates ecological succession and provides habitat for urban wildlife. Physical wellbeing is achieved through senior-oriented spaces, such as therapeutic garden and physical therapy trails, as well as a completely accessible circulation system. Finally, sense of community is achieved through places that foster multi-generational interaction and a sense of belonging, such as the mixed-use hubs, outdoor gathering spaces, and edible gardens.

Site plan of phase 1 (phase being studied) development.

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Partial view of the Therapeutic Garden.

TAKEAWAYS Ecological Functions Running down the central axis of the project, a large creek collects stormwater runoff and collects in a central reservoir. This helps to address urban flooding concerns in the immediate vicinity, while also allowing for a wide variety of plant material and wildlife habitat.

The large trees and abundant vegetation help with carbon sequestration as well.

Carbon Sequestration Stormwater Management

Multi-Generational Spaces In order to create a truly multi-generational development, the circulation system is entirely accessible for older adults and people with mobility difficulties. Specific considerations include seating availability every 30 meters, as well as a variety of gathering spaces for children’s play, socializing, and other activities.

Accessible Circulation Gathering Spaces

Mixed-Use Development Strong use of indoor-to-outdoor connections and flexible outdoor spaces adjacent to interior commercial spaces allows for increased activity and engagement between residents and visitors.

Flexible Space

Sources: www.shmadesigns.com, www.landezine.com

Case Studies | 59

Case Study - Bermondsey Almshouse Location: London, UK | Year: 2021 | Type: Low-Income Senior Housing | Context: Urban Firms: Witherford Watson Mann Architects

PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Bermondsey Almshouse, which began construction in 2019 and is set to be completed in 2021, is a senior living center sited in the heart of an urban area, intended to be a lively and highly interactive living space. The overarching idea behind the design stems from a desire to provide a different experience for older adults, valuing their experience and knowledge instead of shutting them in, and returning to a sense of communal living and community that is difficult to find in modern society. It was designed with the goals of creating an independent collective living situation updated for the 21st century, facilitating social and physical activity for older adults, promoting direct interactions with the life of the city, integrating older adults back into the community, and developing mixed use community areas that interface with the programs surrounding them. Visibility both inwards and outwards is strongly emphasized.

Interior hallways with strong indoor-to-outdoor visibility.

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Socially active urban context provides stimulation.

TAKEAWAYS Connectivity and Visibility The central courtyard opens up protected green space for residents and visitors, while 360º visibility promotes a sense of safety and security. Multiple entrances and publicly accessible spaces help to connect to the surrounding urban fabric.

Green Space Interior Visibility Urban Connectivity

Building Height and Light Quality Strategic organization of the corridors, green space, and overall building form allow light and warmth to penetrate into the highly utilized spaces. The indirect filtered approach to natural lighting also reduces unnecessary glare, addressing concerns of decreasing vision and temperature regulation capabilities in older adults.

Light and Warmth Spatial Organization The project’s spatial organization facilitates mobility throughout for seniors, while carefully designating where public access begins and ends.

Activities and shops are within the first floor and auxiliary building, while private residences comprise the other floors.

Corridors and green space are central.

Public Private Interactive Sources: www.wwmarchitects.co.uk, www.wallpaper.com, www.archdaily.com, www.e-architect.co.uk

Case Studies | 61

Case Study - Atria Foster City Location: Foster City, CA, USA | Year: 2017 | Type: Senior-Oriented Mixed-Use | Context: Suburban Firms: Perkins Eastman

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Atria Foster City is a property owned by Atria Senior Living, focused on the philosophy of providing “independent and assisted living within the heart of a vibrant, connected community” (AIA). With a wide array of amenities in a walkable proximity to the project, it is well integrated into the surrounding neighborhood. It also includes multiple restaurants and stores in its first floor, while townhomes, independent apartments, and affordable senior housing make up the remainder of the complex. Major goals included integration of seniors into the community, creation of an up-scale atmosphere inviting to the surrounding neighborhood, and acknowledgment of the environmental factors in the design. These were achieved through retail frontage and active building edges, mirroring of adjacent aesthetics, and use of landscape manipulation that ameliorates negative factors while improving spatial quality.

Hand-drawing of north-facing facade.

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Master plan of entire development.

TAKEAWAYS Connectivity to City Fabric The first floor of Atria Foster City is primarily retail and common areas. It is successful in its attempt to draw in people from the surrounding neighborhood primarily through the activation of street edges and incorporation of indoor-to-outdoor relationships. Additionally, the orientation of the building is set so that major entrances are aligned with the nearby central square, making access easy and understandable.

Retail Common First Floor

Outdoor Healthcare Spaces and Multi-Generational Gathering Areas The second and third floors of Atria Foster City each have about half of the building’s elevated central open space. By keeping these central spaces separate from the more public uses of the project, there is a greater level of control over sensory information and outside influence. Thus, the project sited therapeutic and memory support gardens in these areas in order to help with exposure to nature and the health improvements it allows. There are also areas for family gatherings and social events. However, one constraint visible in the above photos is the fact that these are on-structure landscaped areas, and thus are not capable of supporting the large trees with shade canopies that would really provide better protection from the sun and visual appeal.

Sources: AIA Design for Aging Review 13: 25th Anniversary, www.perkinseastman.com

Case Studies | 63

Case Study - Cypress Gardens Senior Living Location: Fuyang, China | Year: 2012 | Type: Elder Care Community | Context: Suburban Firms: JSR Associates (Architecture), SMITH GreenHealth Consulting (Landscape), POD Design (Landscape)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Cypress Gardens Senior Living was designed with the goals of addressing a rapidly growing elderly population, working around cultural stigma regarding elder care, being accessible for a range of physical motion, and blending ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ aesthetics. Recognizing the growing financial and social difficulties faced by a ‘one child policy’-imbalanced population, the team created spaces with a personcentered approach, de-institutionalizing spaces that often feel impersonal or sterile. Located within suburban development, the project maintains necessary privacy and safety needs while still maintaining connections to the surrounding context. Terraces and outdoor rooms with strong connections to the interior setting encourage physical movement and exercise, in an attempt to lengthen the period of time before highly intensive care is needed.

Labyrinth courtyard with visible suburban context.

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Ginkgo grove alongside large areas of lawn.

TAKEAWAYS Public and Private Spaces The design provides separation between very public, easily accessible spaces and more private, healthcare oriented spaces. It accounts for the need of safe areas, and artfully controls the transition between public and private.

Public Transition Private

Interior to Exterior Connection Encouraging residents to move throughout the site is important for both physical and mental health. The designers attempted to encourage this through strong indoor - to outdoor connections. Additionally, context visibility helps with promoting sense of place, important to social health.

Context Visibility Indoor-to-Outdoor

‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ Aesthetics The designers felt that a perception of Western aesthetics in the building and the grounds would decrease the strong stigma surrounding elder care in many East Asian cultures. In order to achieve this, they brought out more Western patterns of design in some areas, while blending and combining them with the contextual Chinese design language in others.

Western-influenced Eastern-influenced Combined

Sources: www.jsrassociates.net, www.dirt.asla.org, www.poddesign.net

Case Studies | 65

Case Study - Sun City Takarazuka Location: Takarazuka, Japan | Year: 2007 | Type: Elder Care Community | Context: Suburban Firms: BAR Architects (Architecture), SWA Group (Landscape)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Once again addressing the pressing need for improved and increased senior living care communities, Sun City Takarazuka is an installment in the ‘Park Series’ of Sun City senior care developments. Aiming to achieve goals such as providing a respectful, non-institutionalized residential environment, addressing a wide range of physical capability, connecting and providing the surrounding neighborhood with combined open space, and promoting safety and improved wellbeing of residents, the design comes together as a relatively standard, albeit artfully executed, form of the elder care landscape. Variation in scale of both planting materials and seating spaces diversifies the experience and possibility for interaction for residents, while the incorporation of the external “panhandle” connects the development to the surrounding community.

Variation in seating options and scale of materials.

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View out to context from entrance.

TAKEAWAYS Public and Private; Green Space Access The design provides spatial separation between intentionally public, community-oriented spaces, and more private, resident-focused spaces. It presents a very clear threshold as to where the transition between public and private occurs, and protects residents within its spaces of retreat. The multiple interior courtyards provide easy access to familiar green spaces for residents.

Public Transition Private

Precedent Studies | 37

Views and Personal Spaces

Circulation Options

Textures and Aesthetics

Views into courtyard spaces encourage social behaviors and movement. Additionally, personal spaces in the outdoor realm promote a sense of ownership and responsibility in the site.

Variety in circulation options, such as the sinuous path shown above or the clean modern lines crossing through the design as a whole, allow a sense of selfdetermination and personal agency for older adults.

The blending of a familiar Japanese landscape language with modern aesthetics presents a unique approach to contemporary cultural sensitivity.

The sensory experiences also help with mental stimulation.

Personal Spaces Views

Circulation

Traditional Modern

Sources: www.land8.com, www.sfgate.com, www.swagroup.com, www.hcm-suncity.jp

Case Studies | 67

Intergenerational Theory in Society Building on the Past, Questions for the Future Karen VanderVen, Ph.D. 2004. Document sourced from Professor Sara Bartlett.

Image Sources: www.channelnewsasia.com, www.verywellmind.com

CONTEXT

EXPLORATION

With the demographic shift of people living longer lives and living in a multitude of different family patterns, “intergenerational programs and relationships” need to “both adapt to these new contexts and serve to help people better meet new societal demands and changes” (VanderVen, 2004). Coming from a biopsychosocial perspective, Intergenerational Theory draws upon the existing literature surrounding intergenerational and multigenerational interactions, and further examines concepts regarding older adults in the 21st century.

First, this theory explores current societal trends, including “the fact that people are living much longer lives,” the “growth of single parent and two working parent families,” increases in behavioral problems in children, and of course, that “we are an ‘aging society’” (VanderVen, 2004). These trends support the need for a contemporary intergenerational theory that responds to the shifts in social attitudes and perceptions of older adults.

HYPOTHESIS The hypothesis presented is that improved integration and inclusion of older adults with the rest of society can help with not only older adult physical health and length of life, but with healthy development even from earlier years, as well as societal health and wellbeing.

Erikson’s stages of Psychosocial Development.

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Moving forward, the majority of this new intergenerational theory is based on “source theories,” other psychosocial and behavioral theories that have been examined and wellaccepted by the gerontological community.

Relationship and Activity Theory is used to justify the effectiveness of experiential learning through combinatory intergenerational activities.

It also proposes that mental and social health can be improved for all parties involved. The theory of Cultural Transmission explores the ways that older adults can be vehicles of cultural transmission to children, especially those who may not be fully able to participate in the ‘culture of childhood.’ This also ties into Life Span Theory and Generativity by Erik Erikson, which states that the psychological stage of generativity, or ‘caregiving and caretaking,’ that older adults are in, makes them ideal for alignment with the psychological stages children and youth go through. Through “reciprocal transformation,” mutual discovery of both others and oneself allows for learning and stimulation on both ends of the age spectrum.

Intergenerational interaction at a care center in Salzgitter, Germany. Friendships develop between individuals decades of years apart in age, and each group is able to both teach and learn from each other.

RELEVANCE Essentially, Intergenerational Theory is the backbone of this project, driving the overall mission of the project and supporting the need for a new model of spaces for older adults that integrates instead of isolating. It marries the issues of a growing older adult population and isolation faced by seniors in senior living communities, and provides a research-based background for the importance and direction of the project. By taking advantage of the inherent “needs and developmental assets” that different age groups have, this project will help to generate healthy biopsychosocial aging processes for the full population.

Theoretical Perspectives | 69

Theory of Supportive Gardens And Evidence Based Environmental Design for Improving Medical Outcomes Roger S. Ulrich, Ph.D. 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003.

Image Sources: Clare Cooper Marcus, (2005). Marcus & Sachs, (2014).

CONTEXT Traditional healthcare spaces often focus on provider-centered design, rather than personcentered design. The result: “facilities that are functionally effective but psychologically ‘hard’” (Ulrich, 1997). However, theories of supportive gardens and evidence based design bring together quantitative healthcare research and concepts of environmental design, in order to address the need to create spaces with “supportive characteristics that help patients cope with the stress that accompanies illness” (Ulrich, 2003.)

HYPOTHESIS Throughout his work, and specifically in the four cited articles, Ulrich has proposed that health outcomes for patients can be drastically improved through proximity and interaction with person-centered green spaces. The beneficial effects are largely based on psychological and physical stress reduction (Ulrich, 1999).

Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of evidence-based design, in which “the process for basing decisions about the built environment” is focused “on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes” (Marcus & Sachs, 2014).

EXPLORATION This theory utilizes a mixed-methods approach to exploration, as multiple quantitative and qualitative studies from the medical field were analyzed in conjunction with spatial qualities.

Some examples of these include: a study on physiological responses in 120 individuals to

70 | Research

Lecture diagram by Clare Cooper Marcus, 2005.

differing visual stimuli during a recovery period, which showed that “recuperation from stress was faster and much more complete” when perceived ‘natural’ stimuli were shown (Ulrich, 2002); a study on abdominal surgery patients that found that “individuals had more favorable post-operative courses if their bedside windows overlooked trees” (Ulrich 2003); and an analysis of hospital-acquired infections, which showed that they are “among the leading causes of death in the United States,” more so than car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS (Marcus & Sachs, 2014).

Ulrich also draws heavily upon Stress Reduction Theory, citing the importance of “sense of control, social support, physical movement and exercise, and natural distractions” (Ulrich, 1999).

He also strongly advocates for health-oriented environments that “are not in themselves stressors,” that “facilitate access or exposure to … stress reducing influences,” and that address not only patients, but visitors and staff as well (Ulrich, 1997). Another important source theory is Prospect-Refuge Theory, the idea that fundamentally, human experience of landscape is based on evolutionary impulses that prefer “safe vantage points” without “potential danger” (Marcus & Sachs, 2014).

Examples of healthcare landscape features that align with the key points of Stress Reduction Theory - sense of control, social support, physical movement, and natural distractions. Lightweight furniture options allow for seniors with limited physical capacity to manipulate their environment more freely; seating arrangements can become opportunities for socializing; accessible walking trails promote continued movement of the body; and sensory stimulation through plant material provides natural distractions.

RELEVANCE Looking at the convergence between the multitude of studies done, several key themes emerge. First, that “viewing nature for longer periods not only helps to calm patients, but can also foster improvement in clinical outcomes” (Ulrich, 2002). This is also applicable for caregivers, family members, and visitors as well, who may experience similar environmentally-based stresses. Second, that while the body of work is still growing, there is a substantial amount of available research on detailed design guidelines and the health outcomes they affect. And third, that the linkages between biological, psychological, and social forms of aging and health have direct ties to the environments older adults find themselves in. In the development of a contemporary model of the senior living community, consideration of green space access appears to be not only an aesthetic concern, but a health-based concern as well.

Theoretical Perspectives | 71

Theory of Third Places The Great Good Place; Celebrating the Third Place Ray Oldenburg, Ph.D. 1989, 2001.

Coming from a background of sociology and social studies, Ray Oldenburg examines the idea of the ‘third place’ in his works. He hypothesizes that neutral public spaces constitute a ‘third place’ (outside of home as the first place and work as the second), that “allow people to put aside their concerns and simply enjoy the company and conversation around them” (Oldenburg, 2001). These spaces are considered extremely important to social well-being and psychological health, as without them, “living becomes more expensive” through the commoditization of relaxation and leisure (Oldenburg, 1989). This concept of a ‘third place’ ties into Ulrich’s Theory of Supportive Gardens, emphasizing health through stress reduction. However, one different that makes this relevant in it’s own right is that it is speaking much more broadly about communities and the way the everyday person uses and perceives space.

Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames Joan Iverson Nassauer, FASLA. 1995.

In this essay, Joan Iverson Nassauer examines the balance between different aesthetics of nature, and how people perceive the beauty of the landscape differently based on certain features. Her hypothesis is that, despite the best intentions of the designer, pure ecological function is not in line with the constructed aesthetic of ‘nature’ that people perceive – thus, the messy ecosystem must be contained in orderly, palatable frames. This conclusion draws upon previous studies, as well as a series of experiments regarding perceptions of care and intent. Some important takeaways include the idea that “invisible ecological function must be actively represented for human experience if human beings are to maintain ecological quality;” that phasing of a project from structured to naturalistic over time can help introduce perceptions of ecology; and that instead of an “in your face approach to displaying ecological function,” “incorporating human nature into a concept of ecological responsibility” may be even more effective (Nassauer, 1995).

Three Dimensions of Meaning Robert L. Thayer, Jr. 1994.

In an exploration of the way meaning and affective response are developed in the landscape, Robert Thayer proposes that three dimensions of meaning can be established: perceptual, functional, and symbolic. The perceptual dimension refers to “perceivability and conspicuousness” as separate from the ‘natural’ context. The functional dimension refers to the understanding of purpose or utility. And finally, the symbolic dimension refers to the message or narrative the landscape may evoke (Thayer, 1994).

This three-dimensional view of meaning in the landscape brings together the previously mentioned theories, in that it places the ways they intersect under a spotlight. For example, the Theory of Supportive Gardens is largely concerned with perceptual and functional aspects of meaning, but when paired with Oldenburg’s Theory of Third Places and Intergenerational Theory, the symbolic meaning of spaces is strengthened further than it would have been, and the project gains greater depth of meaning.

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Additional Literature UNIVERSAL DESIGN

HEALTHY CITIES

Ian Dillon & Jared Green; ASLA, 2019.

Brian Jencek & HOK, 2020.

This is a set of design guidelines that surpass the minimums set by ADA recommendations.

The focus is placed on inclusivity and universal accessibility rather than standardized baselines that designs should already be meeting. By considering disabilities, aging, limited mobility, lack of community access, neuro-cognitive disorders, neurodevelopmental and/or intellectual disabilities, blindness and low vision, deafness and hardness of hearing, universal design incorporates ideas of participatory design, ecological design, legibility, multi-sensory approaches, predictability, and walkability.

In this online talk, speaker Brian Jencek, global director at HOK, discussed human healthfocused landscape architecture. Key takeaways include the strong financial argument for preventative health-oriented landscapes (as opposed to reactionary treatments), and the fact that landscape architecture holds a great deal of potential to address future strains on healthcare infrastructure.

DESIGN FOR AGING REVIEW 13 The American Institute of Architects, 2016.

This book contains a multitude of awardwinning case studies on developments for older adults, but also provides statistical information and quantitative data on the projects. Some key points of interest include: 76% of projects recognized by the jury focused on the theme of connecting to nature, while 55% also focused on connecting to the greater community; other major themes include fitting the local context and ecological sustainability.

INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS Larkin, Friedlander, Newman, & Goff, 2005.

This book provides multiple case studies and research on intergenerational communities and programs across different cultures, ranging from familial examples all the way to communityscaled examples. It proposes interesting points on the importance of social infrastructure, the presence of faith and religion as structural frameworks, and multiple cultural perspectives on global intergenerational relationships.

THE AGE OF DIGNITY Ai-Jen Poo, 2016.

This book talks specifically about the AsianAmerican experience in terms of aging and senior living options. Through interviews and personal experience, the author examines issues such as cultural stigma surrounding care options, caregiver burnout and difficulties, and the potential for revolutionizing the elder care industry.

ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING Susan & Stacey Whitbourne, 2019.

This book covers a wide range of topics focusing on older adults, including detailed documentation of psychological perspectives on aging, physical and mental changes that older adults may experience, personality and relationships, longterm care options, societal attitudes on death and dying, and successful aging. Notably, it provides a handful of recommendations for spatial organization, an argument for the ‘death with dignity’ concept, and a comprehensive exploration of ‘active aging,’ supporting the idea that the period of time requiring “intensive dependency” can be shortened through choices earlier in life (Whitbourne, 2019).

Theoretical Perspectives | 73

Design Process Goals and Objectives 76 Design Elements Inventory 81 User Profiles 84 Relationship Bubble Diagrams 90

Conceptual Alternative 1 96 Conceptual Alternative 2 104 Conceptual Alternative 3 112

Goals and Objectives THINKING PROCESS DIAGRAM

76 | Design Process

Goals and Objectives | 77

Goals and Objectives GOAL 1 Improve the physical health of project residents and members of the surrounding community.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Provide an ADA accessible circulation route to facilitate movement and exercise for all Create a curvilinear circulation system for maneuverability of wheelchairs and walkers Create a circulation system with short, medium, and large loops for varying physical capability levels Provide seating options for older adults to rest at, at 20’ intervals along circulation routes Create a designated ½-acre dog park for the surrounding community, minimum 200’ away from residential units Create a system of outdoor exercise spaces for older adults along major circulation route Create outdoor exercise areas for older adults with maximum 100’ visual distance from residential units Provide a resting and viewing area in proximity to each exercise station for older adults with less physical mobility Provide one traditional playground for children to promote physical activity Create at least two topographically playful areas for children to promote physical activity Provide a transitional area at each threshold between differing light qualities, for older adults who have difficulty visually adjusting Create a minimum 8’ wide primary axial circulation route across the site, for comfortable wheelchair or walker maneuverability Provide handrails for mobility-impaired older adults at any secondary path that exceeds 2% Create a minimum of two enclosed outdoor spaces that are oriented eastward for sunlight and warmth during older adult active hours Provide a system of nighttime lighting to promote safety and 24-hour safe access to outdoor spaces for older adults Provide a set of distance markers for older adults undergoing physical therapy in proximity to highercare residential units Create a system of access pathways connecting to the rest of the community, to promote physical activity for all Provide strong visual access to outdoor spaces from the building interior for motivation of older adults to participate in physical activity

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GOAL 2 Promote the mental health of project residents, caregivers, and family members.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Provide mental engagement through an educational experience in the restoration area Create a minimum of two private interior green spaces separate from the greater community area, for older adults with greater vulnerability Maintain a 30’ area directly around building visibly clear for sense of safety of residents Create multiple options for outdoor paths or activities, for sense of control Provide movable seating in interior courtyards, for older adult sense of control Provide a wayfinding signage system for older adult sense of security and safety Provide a clear site organization based on a basic radial or axial system, for straightforward older adult understanding Maintain the view to the northern mountains for contextual sense of place Maintain a 7:3 softscape to hardscape ratio in the open space areas, for perception as garden landscape Create a plant palette with seasonal color, for older adult mental stimulation on the passage of time Create a planting palette with wildlife attraction qualities, for viewing and engagement for all Provide an immersive nature trail or wildlife area for older adult and child mental stimulation Create a minimum of two enclosed outdoor spaces that provide a sense of safety for more vulnerable older adult groups Create a planting palette with kinesthetic textural stimulation for user psychological engagement Provide a labyrinth for contemplative walking, for older adults Create a minimum of two areas with wind chimes, for older adult auditory engagement Orient minimum two enclosed outdoor spaces eastward, for positive psychological effects of sun exposure Create an enclosed outdoor hospice garden for hospice residents with a centrally transcendental philosophy Create an enclosed outdoor hospice garden for hospice residents with scented plant material Create an enclosed outdoor memory care garden for older adults suffering from dementia, with a single entry point Create an enclosed outdoor memory care garden for older adults suffering from dementia, with full visibility through garden Create an enclosed outdoor memory care garden for older adults suffering from dementia, with a simple circular or figure-8 path Create an enclosed outdoor memory care garden for older adults suffering from dementia, with no strongly scented planting material Create a minimum of five caregiver-oriented outdoor spaces, to combat caregiver burnout

Goals and Objectives | 79

GOAL 3 Facilitate improvements in social health of project residents and community members.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Create gathering spaces at building entry and exit points with minimum capacity for 30 individuals Provide a space in enclosed outdoor areas for pickup games or game tables, for social interaction of older adults Create seating areas with capacity for wheelchair pullup, for physically handicapped older adult social interaction Create seating areas with 90 degree orientation for hearing impaired older adult social interaction Create a network of smaller seating areas for more intimate social interaction Create a network of larger seating areas for more group-oriented interaction Create a long term parking area for residents who still have driving capabilities, not in a conspicuous location from residential units Provide short-term daily parking for visitors in proximity to residences, for ease of family visitation Provide short-term daily parking for employees in proximity to places of occupation, for ease of employee movement around the site Provide minimum two bulletin boards for older adult participation in activities and planning Plan the site according to a gradient of care needs, to promote social cohesion Create an open lawn for children to play, in a central, visible area Provide at least two topographically playful areas for children, in proximity to older adult spaces for intergenerational engagement Create a main community center, for social engagement of all users Provide transitional areas between older adult areas and children’s areas, for seniors to be able to see children playing without being directly involved

GOAL 4 Enhance the environmental health of the project site.

• • • • • • • •

Restore a minimum 2,500 foot-long section of the Rubio Wash to an ecologically functioning, naturaledged condition Compose a planting palette with trees, shrubs, and perennials that uses less water than the current site water use (calculate based on lawn coverage) Compose a planting palette that is rich in biodiversity for strong ecological function Compose a planting palette that uses locally native or significant plants, for ecological community building Maintain a 7:3 softscape to hardscape ratio for infiltration in open spaces Create a total of 1 acre of depressional pre-wetland spaces along the creek for future reclamation Implement topographic constructs for pools and riffles to slow the flow of stormwater in the creek Provide an expansive habitat area facilitating wildlife attraction for ecosystem function

80 | Design Process

Design Elements Inventory

Mixed-Use / Residential •

•

•

•

Residential units • Independent units (1500 sf x 350 units = 525000 sf) • Assisted living units (800 sf x 50 units = 40000 sf) • Memory care units (350 sf x 25 units = 8750 sf) • Long-term skilled nursing units (350 sf x 25 units = 8750 sf) • Hospice units (450 sf x 25 units = 11250 sf) Commercial • Pharmacy (1750 sf) • Grocery store (12,000 sf) • Other retail (300,000 sf) Parking • Independent & assisted living visitor parking (350 sf x 400 spaces / 3 floors = 47000 sf) • Memory care / skilled nursing / hospice visitor parking (350 sf x 75 spaces = 26250 sf) • Employee parking (350 sf x 250 spaces / 3 floors = 29100 sf) • Truck loading bay (1000 sf) Other indoor facilities • Community center (8000 sf) • Day care (3500 sf)

Design Elements Inventory | 81

Private Open Space •

•

•

Enclosed • Memory care garden (4000 sf) • Hospice garden (5000 sf) • Game areas (200 sf x 2 = 400 sf) Bounded • Therapeutic gardens (buffer residential buildings 100’) • Personalized garden plots (100 sf x 200 = 20,000 sf) • Labyrinth (7750 sf) • Caregiver-oriented rest spaces (2500 sf x ~5 = 12500 sf) Infrastructure • Lighting • Distance markers • Movable seating • Accessible seating • Water features • Bulletin boards

82 | Design Process

Public Open Space •

•

• Circulation • ADA accessible circulation system • Community access circulation connections • Short circulation loop (1000 ft) • Medium circulation loop (2000 ft) • Long circulation loop (3000 ft) • Passing areas (100 sf x ?)

Infrastructure • Accessible seating • Restrooms • Handrails • Lighting • • Distance markers • Playful sculptures / landmarks • Wayfinding signage • Water feature(s)

Programmed spaces • Dog park (32670 sf) • Outdoor exercise spaces (1000 sf x ?)

• Resting / viewing areas (500 sf x ?)

• Children’s playground (5000 sf) • Holistic play areas (2500 sf x 2 = 5000 sf) • Building-adjacent transitional areas (30’) • Open lawn (20,000 sf) • Sensory engagement areas (1000 sf x ?)

• Small picnic / gathering areas (150 sf x ?)

• Medium picnic / gathering areas (2500 sf) • Large gathering area (6000 sf x3 = 18000 sf) Ecological area • Restored Rubio Wash (2500 ft) • Additional stormwater management / detention area (50,000 sf) • Wildlife habitat area (50,000 sf min) • Restoration area buffer (100’ buffer) • Educational experience • Nature trail system (~2500 ft)

Design Elements Inventory | 83

User Profiles Demographics • Age: 86 • Gender: Female • Family Size: 7 (widowed with two kids, son-in-law, three grandchildren) • Lifecycle Stage: Older adult, widowed, with adult children • Housing Type: Board-and-care older adult housing • Occupation: Retired university professor • Education: Post-graduate (doctorate in biochemistry) • Religion: Buddhist • Race/Ethnicity: Chinese/Taiwanese-American • Languages: Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, English

SHU-MEI TING Immediate Resident “I know my family can’t take care of me at home anymore, but I really miss seeing them more often and being able to go outside freely.”

Psychographics • Social Class: Upper middle-class, previously immigrant working-class • Personality & Mental Health: Introverted, caring; suffers from chronic depression and middle-stage dementia • Beliefs & Attitudes: Avoidance of the number 4 and the topic of death altogether, frugality very important • Acceptance of Innovation: Late mainstream • Motivations: Principle-oriented • Interests & Hobbies: Reading, sudoku, mental stimulation • Media: Cable news, newspapers, magazines Usage Goals • Increased familial interaction • Having an enjoyable remaining period of life

Image source: Personal photo

84 | Design Process

Emotional Goals • Learning (about anything and everything) • Belonging (having a sense of community) • Entertaining (eager for a sense of wonder or intrigue)

Demographics • Age: 57, 58 • Gender: Female, Male • Family Size: 4 (married, children 24 and 22) • Lifecycle Stage: Middle-aged, married with adult children • Housing Type: Single-family home, owners • Occupation: Restaurant owners • Education: College graduates • Religion: n/a • Race/Ethnicity: Chinese-American • Languages: Mandarin Chinese, English

JENNIFER & JOSEPH CHANG Near-Future Residents “We’re getting older now, and we don’t want to be a burden on our kids, but we also don’t want to wait until the last minute and regret not moving sooner.”

Psychographics • Social Class: Middle-Class, previously immigrant working-class • Personality & Mental Health: Driven, gregarious • Beliefs & Attitudes: Always buy the best, church on Sundays is non-negotiable • Acceptance of Innovation: Late mainstream • Motivations: Status-oriented • Interests & Hobbies: Wellbeing of children, maintaining social status • Media: Cable news, sports, Chinese TV dramas Usage Goals • Maintain social relevance in community circles Emotional Goals • Belonging (staying part of the community) • Becoming (aging with grace) • Believing (continued commitment to faith)

Image source: SodanieChea, www.creativecommons.org

User Profiles | 85

Demographics • Age: 50 • Gender: Female • Family Size: 7 (married, three children, one sister, mother) • Lifecycle Stage: Middle-aged, married with children under 18 • Housing Type: Single-family home, owner • Occupation: Obstetrician-Gynecologist • Education: Post-graduate (medical doctor) • Religion: n/a • Race/Ethnicity: Chinese/Taiwanese-American • Languages: Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, English

MIMI WONG Visitor / Family Member “I had to put my mom into a nursing home a year ago, and I feel guilty for it every day. It’s not like we could give her better care at home, that’s why we had to move her there, but I still feel bad.”

Psychographics • Social Class: Upper middle-class • Personality & Mental Health: Social, busy; suffers from mild depression • Beliefs & Attitudes: Dismissive of superstitions, strong advocate for equality • Acceptance of Innovation: Early adopter • Motivations: Action-oriented • Interests & Hobbies: Food, reading, taking care of children • Media: Cable news, online news, journal articles, social media, television shows Usage Goals • Increased familial interaction • Improved personal mental health Emotional Goals • Doing (spending time with family) • Entertaining (being distracted from work stresses) • Becoming (transitioning out of caregiver role)

Image source: Personal photo

86 | Design Process

Demographics • Age: 40 • Gender: Female • Family Size: 3 (two children) • Lifecycle Stage: Middle-aged, divorced, lives alone • Housing Type: Single-family home, owner • Occupation: Nurse • Education: College graduate • Religion: n/a • Race/Ethnicity: Chinese-American • Languages: Cantonese, English

CELIA AUYEUNG Nurse / Potential Employee “I’ve been an elder-care nurse for over a decade now, but it never seems to get easier. We have more and more patients each year and it’s started to get pretty difficult, mentally.”

Psychographics • Social Class: Middle-Class • Personality & Mental Health: Gregarious, relaxed • Beliefs & Attitudes: Enjoys trying new things, relatively laid-back • Acceptance of Innovation: Early adopter • Motivations: Action-oriented • Interests & Hobbies: Food, spending time with friends • Media: Cable news, online news Usage Goals • Improve mental and physical wellbeing Emotional Goals • Doing (more activities, spending time outside) • Belonging (continued friendships through middle and older age) • Entertaining (enjoyment and amusement)

Image source: PeterThoeny, www.creativecommons.org

User Profiles | 87

Demographics • Age: 17 • Gender: Female • Family Size: 9 (three children, two parents, one aunt, three grandparents) • Lifecycle Stage: Child under 18, two younger siblings • Housing Type: Single-family home • Occupation: Student • Education: Some high school • Religion: n/a • Race/Ethnicity: Chinese/Taiwanese-American • Languages: English mainly, conversational in Mandarin

SARAH WONG Volunteeer and Visitors “I need to find a place to finish my graduation service ours that looks good on a college app but isn’t a waste of my time. And my mom always says my siblings and I need to get outside more often, but there isn’t anywhere close enough to us.”

Psychographics • Social Class: Upper middle-class • Personality & Mental Health: Hardworking, polite, social; suffers from anxiety and depression • Beliefs & Attitudes: Strong advocate for equality and social change • Acceptance of Innovation: Early adopter • Motivations: Principle-oriented • Interests & Hobbies: Music, social activities, active recreation • Media: Social media (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.)

Usage Goals • Increased familial interaction • Good college acceptance • Improved physical health Emotional Goals • Doing (spending time with family) • Belonging (social inclusion in activities) • Learning (about the world, satisfying curiosity)

Image source: Personal photo

88 | Design Process

Demographics • Age: 45 • Gender: Male • Family Size: 4 (wife and two children) • Lifecycle Stage: Middle-aged, married with children under 18 • Housing Type: Single-family home, owners • Occupation: Businessman • Education: Post-graduate (MBA) • Religion: Christian • Race/Ethnicity: White • Languages: English

JACKSON PERRY Near-Future Residents “The wife and I love to host dinners, but I really need to keep an eye on my weight. I usually walk the dog around the street block since the nearest park is 25 minutes away.”

Psychographics • Social Class: Upper middle-class • Personality & Mental Health: Ambitious, confident • Beliefs & Attitudes: Socially and fiscally conservative • Acceptance of Innovation: Laggard • Motivations: Status-oriented • Interests & Hobbies: Sports, physical health • Media: Cable news, online news Usage Goals • Maintain physical health Emotional Goals • Belonging (active social life) • Doing (more physical activities near home) • Becoming (more physically healthy)

Image source: www.kara.allthingsd.com

User Profiles | 89

Relationship Bubble Diagrams Notes • •

Positives - Distinction between private- and public-oriented spaces Negatives - Child-oriented spaces are not in proximity with older adult-oriented spaces

90 | Design Process

Notes • •

Positives - Older adult-oriented spaces and child-oriented spaces are close to each other Negatives - No gradient of care needs, little public open space, de-integrated ecological area

Relationship Bubble Diagrams | 91

Notes • •

Positives - Ecological education opportunity with proximity to children-oriented spaces Negatives - Boundaries between public and private open space blurred

92 | Design Process

Notes • •

Positives - Integration between senior-oriented and child-oriented spaces Negatives - Blurred boundaries between public and private, not much buffer for ecological area

Relationship Bubble Diagrams | 93

Notes • •

Positives - Use of ecological area as transition between public and private, engaging opportunity Negatives - Limited integration of older adult-oriented and child-oriented spaces

94 | Design Process

Notes • •

Positives - Separation between private and public, while still having good older adult integration Negatives - Private-oriented / older adult-oriented spaces could be expanded

Relationship Bubble Diagrams | 95

Conceptual Alternative 1

(Plans not to scale)

Inspiration - the Cadeuceus, symbol of the medical profession

CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES

96 | Design Process

Conceptual Alternative 1 | 97

STORYBOARDING SKETCH

98 | Design Process

CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM

Conceptual Alternative 1 | 99

DESIGN PROGRESSION

100 | Design Process

SCHEMATIC DRAWING

Conceptual Alternative 1 | 101

SCHEMATIC DRAWING WITH BACKGROUND MAP

102 | Design Process

Notes • • • • • • • • • • •

Adequate integration of mixed-use retail areas and senior-oriented development Curvilinear path forms conducive to older adult mobility Therapeutic and older adult-oriented spaces formal and contained neatly in center of development Dog park sufficiently distanced from development Good integration of day care / children’s area with environmental education areas Interesting exploration of “Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames” principle (see Theoretical Perspectives) Community access seems a bit cut off, somewhat abrupt edging Formal playgrounds somewhat distanced from day care area Continue to consider whether cutting Hermosa Ave vehicular circulation is a worthwhile bargain Acceptable maintained access to residences along south-end parking lot Overall, acceptable configuration of elements, forms may need improvement, explore more integrative approaches to spatial organization

Conceptual Alternative 1 | 103

Conceptual Alternative 2

(Plans not to scale)

Inspiration - Memory, and the way our minds value different experiences

CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES

104 | Design Process

Conceptual Alternative 2 | 105

STORYBOARDING SKETCH

106 | Design Process

CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM

Conceptual Alternative 2 | 107

DESIGN PROGRESSION

108 | Design Process

SCHEMATIC DRAWING

Conceptual Alternative 2 | 109

SCHEMATIC DRAWING WITH BACKGROUND MAP

110 | Design Process

Notes • • • • • • • • • • • •

Integration was not achieved to a satisfactory degree Curvilinear path forms conducive to older adult mobility Intensively ecological experience mostly relegated to north half of the site Significant opportunity for public recreation and immersion in nature Circulation forms not necessarily functional, efficiency-wise Gradient of care needs happens laterally rather than longitudinally Core therapeutic and older adult-oriented spaces are also the transitional space between southend retail center and north-end nature center, bizarre Expanded lawn areas on south end of site may not be as functional as desired due to shape Hermosa Ave creates separation, potentially functional separation but may also disturb circulation flow throughout the site, also consider user safety Public-oriented parklet systems severely distanced from one another, but may be acceptable if considered as separate elements Dog park is sufficiently distanced from residential areas, but is also directly adjacent to ecologically restored seasonal retention zones, potential for disturbance Overall, inefficient forms, some aspects of interesting spatial organization and design thinking, but generally a not-so-successful iteration

Conceptual Alternative 2 | 111

Conceptual Alternative 3 Inspiration - Xiào, the Chinese character for filial piety

CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES

112 | Design Process

(Plans not to scale)

Conceptual Alternative 3 | 113

STORYBOARDING SKETCH

114 | Design Process

CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM

Conceptual Alternative 3 | 115

DESIGN PROGRESSION

116 | Design Process

SCHEMATIC DRAWING

Conceptual Alternative 3 | 117

SCHEMATIC DRAWING WITH BACKGROUND MAP

118 | Design Process

Notes • • • • • • • • • • • •

Integration could have been achieved to a greater degree Angular path forms are unacceptable for older adult mobility requirements Strong integration of ecological restoration area woven through site Intriguing organization of older adult-oriented spaces around a central ecological zone Potentially place more consideration on where exactly the axial relationships line up Extension of child-oriented spaces is successfully integrated into the older adult development area, but the physical building for day care and those directly associated outdoor spaces are somewhat far from other elements Interesting transect across center of site, from older adult development, through ecological restoration area, to public-oriented park trail system Good continuous flow of public-oriented park trail system throughout whole site without interruption Transformation of Hermosa Ave to pedestrian corridor, needs further consideration Dog park location is successful, distanced from residential areas but also in proximity to children Privatization of labyrinth and other therapeutic spaces is stronger in this iteration, good consideration Overall, linear forms will not work but spatial organization and design principles were interestingly explored in this iteration, take key design thinking from this and move forward with it

Conceptual Alternative 3 | 119

Design Development Site Analysis 122 Matrices 124 Final Design Iterations 134 Master Plan 149 Design Principles 152 Design Details 154 Phase 1 158 Phase 2 164 Phase 3 176

Site Analysis POTENTIAL SITING OF CONTINUING CARE REITREMENT COMMUNITY UNITS

1. Slope Acceptable Less than ideal Unacceptable

2. Mature Vegetation Acceptable Less than ideal Unacceptable

3. Views Acceptable Less than ideal Unacceptable

4. Noise & Traffic Acceptable Less than ideal Unacceptable

122 | Design Development

5. Selected Areas Optimal

Site Analysis | 123

Matrices

Positive Neutral Negative Description This matrix explores the potential compatibility of design elements with existing site elements.

The left column contains contextual site elements, while the right column contains interior site elements. Similarly, the first set of rows contains mixeduse/residential design elements, the second set contains private-oriented open space, and the third set contains public-oriented open space.

Analysis Noteworthy discoveries from this matrix include the potential for the water towers to be used as landmarks, the potential for mature trees to be symbolic in memory care and hospice spaces, safety concerns regarding proximity of play areas to high-traffic roads, and an increased consideration of paved versus un-paved surfaces in building siting.

124 | Design Development

Existing Building Existing Parking Water Towers Channel Paved Areas Open Lawn Mature Trees

Compatibility

Economic Corridor Transit Stops Residential Area High-Traffic Road Low-Traffic Road Religious Center Low-Rise Apt.

DESIGN ELEMENTS VS SITE INVENTORY ELEMENTS

Independent Units Assisted Living Units Memory Care Units Skilled Nursing Units Hospice Units Pharmacy Grocery Store Other Retail Parking Lot Community Center Day Care Memory Care Garden Hospice Garden Therapeutic Gardens Personal Garden Plots Caregiver Rest Spaces Physical Therapy Spaces Labyrinth Lighting Seating ADA Circulation System Community Access Point Restrooms Water Feature Dog Park Exercise Areas Resting Areas Playground Holistic Play Areas Open Lawn Picnic Seating Areas Ecological Restoration

DESIGN ELEMENTS VS DESIGN ELEMENTS Positive

Neutral

Negative

Description This matrix explores the potential compatibility of design elements with each other. Group one is publicoriented open space, group two is private-oriented open space, and group three is mixed-use/residential elements.

ADA Circulation System Community Access Point Restrooms Water Feature Dog Park Exercise Areas Resting Areas Playground Holistic Play Areas Open Lawn Picnic Seating Areas Ecological Restoration Memory Care Garden Hospice Garden Therapeutic Gardens Personal Garden Plots Caregiver Rest Spaces Physical Therapy Spaces Labyrinth Lighting Seating

Analysis Key points in this matrix include the need to secure enclosed spaces for vulnerable groups; a continued consideration of different needs based on unit type and the associated organizational gradient based on physical ability level; the importance of lighting and seating across the board; and a reaffirmation of the importance of the project’s intergenerational aspect through proximity of children to older adults.

Independent Units Assisted Living Units Memory Care Units Skilled Nursing Units Hospice Units Pharmacy Grocery Store Other Retail Parking Lot Community Center Day Care Matrices | 125

GOALS & OBJECTIVES VS SCHEMATIC ALTERNATIVES

S1

S2

S3

126 | Design Development

Achievement of Objective Strong S1 S2 S3

Moderate

Weak

Blank - Unable to determine at current detail level

Improve the physical health of project residents and members of the community.

Circulation system - ADA accessible Circulation system - curvilinear forms for maneuverability Circulation system - loop length options for varying capability levels Circulation system - main route minimum 8’ width Circulation system - community access pathways ½-acre dog park, minimum 200’ away from residential units Outdoor exercise areas - maximum 100’ from residential units Outdoor exercise areas - additional resting/viewing area Traditional playground Holistic play areas Enclosed outdoor spaces - minimum of two Enclosed outdoor spaces - eastward orientation Handrails at all necessary locations Nighttime lighting system Seating options provided at regular distances (20’) Physical therapy distance markers Visual access to outdoor spaces from building interior Enhance the environmental health of the project site.

Rubio Wash channel - restoration to ecologically functioning condition Pre-wetland depression areas, one acre minimum total Topographic constructs for slowing stormwater Expansive habitat area Planting palette - less water-consuming than existing landscaping Planting palette - biodiverse for ecological function Planting palette - locally native or significant plants Open space 7:3 softscape to hardscape ratio

Matrices | 127

S1 S2 S3

Promote the mental health of project residents, caregivers, and family members.

Circulation system - multiple options for sense of control Circulation system - basic radial or axial system Enclosed outdoor spaces - minimum of two Enclosed outdoor spaces - movable seating Walking labyrinth 30’ visibility buffer around buildings for resident safety Hospice garden Memory care garden Caregiver-oriented rest areas Restoration area - educational experience Restoration area - trail system or wildlife area Plant palette - seasonal color Plant palette - wildlife attraction Plant palette - sensory stimulation View north to mountains maintained Wayfinding signage system Sensory engagement installations Open space 7:3 softscape to hardscape ratio Contribute to the economic growth of the city.

Mixed-use retail area - south edge location Mixed-use retail area - ADA accessible Public access to site Continuing care retirement community units - 43-acre maximum Continuing care retirement community units - proximity to stores and transit

128 | Design Development

S1 S2 S3

Facilitate improvements in social health of project residents and community members.

Gathering spaces at building access points Seating areas - older adult-oriented considerations Seating areas - multiple scales Parking - long-term for residents Parking - short-term daily for visitors and employees Gradient of care needs dictates unit organization Main community center Open lawn / children’s play area in viewing distance of residential units Older adult spaces in proximity to children’s spaces

Analysis Looking at the first schematic alternative, some objectives that were neglected were the eastward orientation of the enclosed outdoor spaces, and the public accessibility to the site as a whole. On the other hand, this one did achieve caregiver-oriented spaces more than the others. Overall, this alternative was surprisingly most successful in the goal of affecting economic growth.

The second schematic alternative failed to include appropriate circulation options for differing levels of mobility, designated outdoor exercise areas, a labyrinth, and proximity between children’s spaces and older adult spaces. However, it was quite successful in the goal of improving environmental health of the site.

In the third schematic alternative, the shortcomings were the obvious sharp-angled circulation system and a distinct separation between CCRC units and stores/transit. It was successful in its somewhat more straightforward circulation system and the provision of circulation options, public access to the site, and allowance of multiple seating space scales at building exteriors.

Overall, some additional considerations that should be better achieved in the final schematic include the visual safety buffer around the residential units; simplification of the main circulation system to reduce confusion; allowance of choice-making through multiple circulation options; public access to the site both visually and physically; and positioning of exercise areas close enough to residential units.

Matrices | 129

ALIGNMENT BETWEEN GOALS AND DESIGN ELEMENTS

Goal 1 Improve the physical health of older adults and members of the surrounding community.

Goal 2 Promote mental health improvements for project residents, caregivers, and family members.

Goal 3 Facilitate the strengthening of social health for both older adults and youths.

Goal 4 Revitalize the environmental health and ecological function of the project site.

130 | Design Development

Design Elements ADA Circulation System Community Access Points Restrooms Water Features Dog Park Exercise Areas Resting Areas Playgrounds Holistic Play Areas Ecological Restoration Memory Care Garden Hospice Garden Therapeutic Gardens Caregiver Rest Spaces Therapy Spaces Labyrinth Independent Units Co-Housing Units Assisted Living Units Memory Care Units Skilled Nursing Units Hospice Units Pharmacy Grocery Store Other Retail Parking Lots Community Center Day Care Handrails/Guardrails Accessible Seating Intergenerational Play Light Transitions Path Traction Path Accessibility Passing Areas Sun Protection Lighting Distance Markers Movable Seating Personal Garden Plots Path Buffer Sensory Experiences Drinking Fountains Planter Height Open Lawn Picnic Gathering Gateway Signage Coded Tactile Cues Transparent Fencing Emergency Phone Boxes Transit Stops Seating Arrangements Landmarks Lending Library Bulletin Boards Game Tables

Matrices | 131

ALIGNMENT BETWEEN DESIGN ELEMENTS AND USER GROUPS Age Group Mobility

Other

ADA Circulation System Community Access Points Restrooms Water Features Dog Park Exercise Areas Resting Areas Playgrounds Holistic Play Areas Ecological Restoration Memory Care Garden Hospice Garden Therapeutic Gardens Caregiver Rest Spaces Therapy Spaces Labyrinth Independent Units Co-Housing Units Assisted Living Units Memory Care Units Skilled Nursing Units Hospice Units Pharmacy Grocery Store Other Retail Parking Lots Community Center Day Care Handrails/Guardrails Accessible Seating Intergenerational Play Light Transitions Path Traction Path Accessibility Passing Areas Sun Protection Lighting Distance Markers Movable Seating Personal Garden Plots Path Buffer Sensory Experiences Drinking Fountains Planter Height Open Lawn Picnic Gathering Gateway Signage Coded Tactile Cues Transparent Fencing Emergency Phone Boxes Transit Stops Seating Arrangements Landmarks Lending Library Bulletin Boards Game Tables

132 | Design Development

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Matrices | 133

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Final Design Iterations INITIAL GESTURES

134 | Design Development

(Plans not to scale)

Final Design Iterations | 135

CONCEPTUAL IDEATION

136 | Design Development

Final Design Iterations | 137

PHASE I CONCEPT IDEATION AND SCHEMATIC

138 | Design Development

Final Design Iterations | 139

CONTINUED CONCEPT IDEATION

140 | Design Development

FIRST FINAL CONCEPT DIAGRAM

Final Design Iterations | 141

*Based on faculty feedback, design was reconsidered and went through additional alterations.

PHASE II & III RESTRUCTURING

142 | Design Development

PHASE I RESETRUCTURING

Final Design Iterations | 143

MASTER PLAN RESTRUCTURING

144 | Design Development

PHASE I SCHEMATIC DESIGN

Final Design Iterations | 145

146 | Design Development

FINAL MASTER PLAN SCHEMATICS

Final Design Iterations | 147

148 | Design Development

Master Plan

0’

225’

450’

Phase 1

Main Intergenerational Development

Phase 2

Continuing Care Retirement Community

Phase 3

Connection to Economic Corridor

Master Plan | 149

UNIT TYPES Mixed-Use Independent Living Senior-oriented retail combined with both independent senior living units and general units.

Relationship with nature and open space is fairly active and readily blends with exterior spaces.

Co-Housing Clusters Groups of independent home-style units around central courtyards. Open to independent seniors and young families.

Active relationship with nature, development of intergenerational social capital in the landscape.

Assisted Living For seniors with low-to-medium care needs, transition to slightly higher amounts of security and enclosure.

Mix of active and passive relationship with nature and outdoor spaces, provision for increased mobility assistance needs in the landscape.

Memory Care Units Units for individuals with Alzheimer’s and/ or dementia, as well as partners. Circular path layout with planting focused on resident safety.

Within safely enclosed interior, mix of active/passive relationship with nature based on stage of Alzheimer’s/dementia.

Long-Term Skilled Nursing and Hospice Long-term, higher care need units, as well as end-of-life accommodations. Fragrant planting & sensory stimulation.

Transition to a more passive-oriented relationship with outdoor spaces, but with consisted direct visual access.

150 | Design Development

CIRCULATION Main Paths and Concept ‘Stitching together generational gaps.’

Main circulation routes with a width of 20 feet. Large curves help with ease of mobility for individuals with mobility challenges. Axial layout allows residents to orient themselves easily.

Emergency Access Routes Ambulance-accessible routes, width of 20 feet. Typically automobileinaccessible and blocked off with retractable bollards for pedestrian safety.

Direct access to higher-risk residential unit types.

Outdoor Exercise + Learning Outdoor intergenerational exercise spaces and nature-oriented learning.

Large loop encompasses full length of the site, while shorter loop options provide choice and accessibility.

Seasonal Nature Trails Central trails in the interior of the restoration corridor. Seasonally flooded during the rain period, provides immersive natural experiences for the remainder of the year.

Community Access Points Major and minor points of access to the site from the surrounding community.

Highly porous exterior edges help to draw in community members and promote the development as a hub for community activity.

Master Plan | 151

Design Principles

Principles of Intergenerational Design

152 | Design Development

Choice A sense of control is important for positive mental health outcomes, in both older adults and the general population.

Provision of options for decision-making.

Flexibility Multi-purpose spaces lend themselves to an environment of open evolution, helping create a dynamic experience that has the capacity for a variety of program elements.

Visibility Visibility into and out of spaces improves a sense of safety while also allowing for personal evaluation of intergenerational interaction options.

Layering Enmeshing programmatic elements with synergistic effects for varying age groups increases the capacity for intergenerational interaction and social relationship-building.

Meaningfulness Spaces and activities that provide opportunities for understanding of shared experiences and emotional connections can help in bridging the age barrier.

Privacy Creation of a balance between public and private spaces promotes comfortability and choice within the community.

Through distinct programmed understandings of space, mental and physical health is supported.

Safety + Accessibility Design considerations for the safety and accessibility of older adults also are applicable to other population groups, such as pregnant individuals, parents with young children, and people with disabilities.

Connection While traditional senior living communities are often isolated and function largely independently of their context, intergenerational development relies heavily on walkability and community access. The pedestrian experience is prioritized.

Design Principles | 153

Design Details Choice

Flexibility

Meaningfulness

*see site plans for location examples

Visibility

Privacy

Layering

Safety/Accessibility

1. Handrails/ Guardrails height 32” & 26” diameter 2.75”

8. Accessible Seating wheelchairaccommodating group seating options

15. Intergenerational Play

154 | Design Development

Connection

2. Path Traction textured paving material for slip resistance

9. Path Accessibility 8’ minimum width 2% maximum slope

16. Passing Areas

exercise and play equipment for seniors and children

rest stops with seating at 25’ intervals on main path

22. Light Transitions

23. Sun Protection

shaded adjustment moment at building entry

seating areas have sun protection for thermal control

3. Lighting

4. Path Buffer

sufficient night lighting along paths and spaces, not directly into units

separation between private and public walkways

10. Distance Markers

11. Sensory Experiences

wayfinding signage and distance markers at 1/4 mi intervals

17. Movable Seating promotion of sense of choice through alterable seating arrangements

24. Personal Garden Plots individual gardening boxes for residents

tactile, olfactory, and auditory stimulation

18. Drinking Fountains universally accessible drinking fountains

25. Planter Height 32-48” for semiambulant 25-35” for wheelchair

Design Details | 155

5. Open Lawn multipurpose open lawn areas for shifting programs

12. Picnic Gathering varied sizes of paved gathering spaces with seating options

156 | Design Development

6. Transparent Fencing clear paneling for visibility in areas with security concerns

13. Emergency Phone Boxes clearly visible call boxes for emergency assistance

19. Gateway Signage

20. Transit Stops

major access point designation with cultural significance

bus stops for connection to surrounding communities

26. Coded Tactile Cues

27. Seating Arrangements

material changes and braille plates for non-sight-based experience

90-degree orientation for ease of communication and visibility

7. Landmarks culturally significant sculptures and landmarks for wayfinding and play

14. Lending Library book exchange boxes for intergenerational cultural interaction

21. Bulletin Boards spaces for informational flyers and announcements

28. Game Tables activity areas specialized for outdoor board games

Design Details | 157

Phase 1 Site Plan

0’

80’

160’

A C F2

C

11 D

F1

B

F

C 7 1

Handrails / Guardrails

5

Open Lawn

6

15

18

Transparent Fencing

7

Landmarks

11

Sensory Experiences

14

Lending Library

15

Intergenerational Play

A

Maintenance Area

17

Movable Seating

B

Caregiver Sanctuary

18

Drinking Fountains

C

Co-Housing Cluster

19

Gateway Signage

D

Therapeutic Gardens

20

Transit Stops

E

Day Care

21

Bulletin Boards

F

Settling Ponds

24

Personal Garden Plots

G

Mixed-Use Retail

28

Game Tables

H

Memory Care Units

158 | Design Development

E

14

20

24

D

C

28

G

1 5

21

19

12

17

G

H

6

D

Phase 1 contains the main intergenerational development, and was the first area to have the design detail recommendations applied to it. Unit types included in this phase are mixed-use independent living for seniors and the general public, co-housing clusters of small single-family units around courtyards, and one memory care building. There is also a day care, multiple outdoor therapeutic spaces, an open lawn, and a caregiver sanctuary. Additionally, this is where the previously mentioned channelized river begins to be restored to a natural-edged condition, becoming a benefit for the residents and community to unilize.

Phase 1 | 159

Focus Area 1 - Caregiver Sanctuary On the east edge of Phase 1, there is a caregiver sanctuary, applying therapeutic principles to a space specifically to address the needs of care providers, as caregiver burnout is an added issue exacerbated by growing older adult populations. This is a place for resting separate from their occupations, and is inward focused with seating and sensory stimulation. The planting material has been selected to provide seaonal interest and filtered light, and screens the space visually.

visual screen

tactile stimulation

160 | Design Development

seasonal changes

water feature

filtered light

Phase 1 | 161

Focus Area 2 - Co-Housing Courtyard The second focus area looks at one of the co-housing courtyards. These are spaces for young families and seniors to help take care of each others’ needs and support one another, with a community center in each cluster, and public art, vegetable gardens, and an open play area for the outdoor features. It’s here that a lot of the intergenerational bonds can be formed. Each cluster provides a network reinforced through proximity that develops trust and long-lasting friendships.

light transitions

open lawn permeable paving

162 | Design Development

mural planter boxes

Phase 1 | 163

Phase 2 Site Plan

A

0’

90’

180’

C

26 B

6 A’

A

4

24

E B’

11 B

D F3

10

12 F

7 G J

H 15 K

164 | Design Development

I

4

Path Buffer

6

Transparent Fencing

7

Landmarks

10

Distance Markers

11

Sensory Experiences

12

Picnic Gathering

15

Intergenerational Play

24

Personal Garden Plots

26

Coded Tactile Cues

A

Assisted Living Units

B

Seasonal Nature Trails

C

Memory Care Units

D

Therapeutic Garden

E

Skilled Nursing Units

F

Hospice Units

G

Settling Ponds

H

Dog Park

I

Administrative Offices

J

Emergency Vehicle Access

K

Water Feature

Phase 2 contains the Continuing Care Retirement Community, or CCRC, which is a senior living community format designed to encourage aging in place - this one includes assisted living, memory care, long-term skilled nursing, and hospice. There is also a central public therapeutic space, and the continuation of the restored creek for the majority of the section before it passes through a series of settling ponds and returns underground to a channelized condition. Other inclusions for this phase are a dog park and an administration building, along with the beginning of a small retention swale along the southern west edge of the site.

Phase 2 | 165

Section A - A’

0’

8’

16’

Assisted Living Residential Units Housing and care for older adults with greater assistive needs than independent living accommodations.

ADA accessibility along all main circulation routes promotes an inclusive and safe experience for all.

Trees provide a softer light quality transition from indoors to outdoors, screen from the main path for privacy, and contribute to carbon sequestration.

Flowering trees and trees with fall color provide seasonal interest and show the passage of time.

Visual and direct physical connection from residential units to outdoor spaces.

Transitional/ Circulation

24

4

Personal Garden Plots

Privacy Setback

15 Main Path

Planting Group 1

166 | Design Development

Outdoor Intergener + Education L

Day Care and Children’s Center Supervision and care for children, indoor and outdoor learning areas, traditional and holistic play areas.

Co-Housing Unit Clusters

Independent senior living and individual units for young families arranged around central courtyards.

Elevated walks cross over and interject into the corridor for immersive nature experiences.

Multiple path options allow for a sense of control while providing opportunities for a variety of activities.

During the dry season, the river channel acts as a nature corridor with access to trails.

The restored river channel is seasonally flooded, providing first-hand education of natural processes.

rational Play Loop

Planting Group 2

Planting Group 3

Phase 2 | 167

Planting Groups Wildlife Attraction

Tactile Stimulation

Olfactory Stimulation

Planting Group 1: Oaks and Upper Elevation Vegetation

Quercus agrifolia Coast Live Oak

Pinus canariensis Canary Island Pine

Shrubs & Groundcovers Arctostaphylos sp.

Carpenteria californica Ceanothus sp.

Cistus purpureus Eriogonum fasciculatum Garrya elliptica Ribes speciosum Salvia apiana Salvia clevelandii Salvia sonomensis Perennials Artemisia californica Erigeron karvinskianus Lupinus albifrons Penstemon eatonii Penstemon spectabilis Romneya coulteri Sisyrinchium bellum Salvia spathacea

168 | Design Development

Liquidambar styraciflua Sweet Gum

x Chitalpa tashkentensis Chitalpa

Sp.

Su.

F.

W.

Sp.

Su.

F.

W.

Planting Group 2: Sycamores and Intermediate Elevation Vegetation

Platanus racemosa California Sycamore

Salix lasiolepis Arroyo Willow

Shrubs & Groundcovers Calycanthus occidentalis Carpenteria californica Cercis occidentalis Myrica californica Ribes speciosum Rhamnus californica

Perennials & Ferns Carex pansa Carex praegracilis Diplacus aurantiacus Heuchera sp.

Iris douglasiana Juncus patens Polypodium californicum Sisyrinchium bellum

Prunus illicifollia ssp. lyonii Hollyleaf Cherry

Agonis flexuosa Peppermint Tree

Sp.

Su.

F.

W.

Sp.

Su.

F.

W.

Phase 2 | 169

Planting Group 3: Seasonally Flooded Channel Vegetation

Sambucus nigra Black Elderberry

Perennials Achillea millefolium Aquilegia formosa Carex flacca Carex praegracilis Carex spissa Diplacus aurantiacus Delphinium glaucum Elymus condensatus Festuca glauca

Chondropetalum tectorum Calamagrostis x acutiflora Juncus patens Lepidospartum squamatum Muhlenbergia rigens Rudbeckia californica

170 | Design Development

Salix lasiolepis Arroyo Willow

Sp.

Su.

F.

W.

Sp.

Su.

F.

W.

Additional Planning Sketches

Phase 2 | 171

Section B - B’

0’

8’

16’

This section looks at seasonality, and how infiltration occurs compared to the previous channelized condition. Showing the seasonal stream with walks crossing over it and elevated lookout points, this section also serves as a comparison between the existing condition shown in dashed lines and the proposed in the solid line.

Elevation B - B’: Summer Through Early Fall Existing Section Proposed Section

7 Main Path

Sculpture/ Landmark

Education Loop

Elevation B - B’: Late Fall Through Early Spring Existing Section Proposed Section

7 Main Path

172 | Design Development

Sculpture/ Landmark

Education Loop

Nature Trail

Outlook Point

Education Loop

Main Path

Seasonally Flooded

Outlook Point

Education Loop

Main Path

Phase 2 | 173

Focus Area 3 - Therapeutic Garden The third focus area is the central therapeutic public space featured in phase 2. The goal was to bring ideas typically only used in healthcare or hospital landscape settings and adapt them for public benefit.

This includes programmatic elements such as nature education, outdoor therapy, and a sense of safety through topographic manipulation around the edges. At the core, there are also water features, modern interpretations of the parterre garden, and a walking labyrinth.

seasonal changes

outdoor therapy

nature education

174 | Design Development

sun protection

topographic boundary

water feature

Phase 2 | 175

Phase 3 Site Plan

0’

90’

180’

11

28

B

C 24

A

7

5

8

D

E

17

16

F

21 20

176 | Design Development

19

5

Open Lawn

7

Landmarks

8

Accessible Seating

11

Sensory Experiences

16

Passing Areas

17

Movable Seating

19

Gateway Signage

20

Transit Stops

21

Bulletin Boards

24

Personal Garden Plots

A

Intergenerational Playground

B

Bioswale

C

Co-Housing Cluster

D

Event Lawn

E

Mixed-Use Retail

F

Community Center

Phase 3 is the connection to the southern economic corridor. This section features a large intergenerational playground, mixeduse independent living with retail, one co-housing cluster, and a community center retrofitted from the existing country club.

The west edge of the site is highly porous to pedestrian access, but also contributes to overall project stormwater capture through an extended retention swale. The large open lawn adjacent to the community center is intentioned as a sealable asset for public or private events, including weddings. It is a remnant of the previous use of the area, as it is a preservation of the existing on-site venue.

Phase 3 | 177

Bibliography and Conclusion Bibliography 180 Personal Statement 184 Resume 185

Project Information Bibliography Bartlett, S. P. (2020, April 6). Themes and issues in adult development and aging. [PDF document].

Retrieved from Canvas Website: https://canvas.calpoly.edu/courses/17388/files/255230?module_item_ id=118223 Couturié, B., & Sandkuhler, A. (2009). The Alzheimer’s project: Caregivers. Retrieved from https://www. hbo.com/documentaries/the-alzheimers-project-caregivers Jencek, B. (2020). Healthy Cities: City-Making at the Intersection of Landscape Architecture and Public Health. Land8 Virtual Conference.

Site Inventory Bibliography

AAJC. Asian Americans Advancing Justice. https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/.

Average Annual Precipitation for Cities in California. Average Yearly Precipitation for California Cities - Current Results. https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/California/average-yearly-city-precipitation. php.

Berton, J. (2012, February 9). Whites in state ‘below the replacement’ level. SFGate. https://www.sfgate. com/news/article/Whites-in-state-below-the-replacement-level-3186119.php.

California, S. of. California Liquefaction Zones. Koordinates. https://koordinates.com/layer/97126california-liquefaction-zones/.

City Trees: San Gabriel, CA - Official Website. City Trees | San Gabriel, CA - Official Website. https://www. sangabrielcity.com/874/Urban-Forestry.

Dr.A.J.Marsh. 3D Sunpath Calculator. PD: 3D Sun-Path. http://andrewmarsh.com/apps/staging/sunpath3d. html.

Fong, T. P. (1994). The first suburban Chinatown: the remaking of Monterey Park, California. Temple University Press. fore, A. (2017, April 9). The Mission Cactus of the San Gabriel Country Club. Golf Historical Society. http:// www.golfhistoricalsociety.org/ghswordpress/2017/04/08/san-gabriel-mission-cactus/.

History of Asians in the San Gabriel Valley. IMDiversity. https://imdiversity.com/villages/asian/history-ofasians-in-the-san-gabriel-valley/.

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Horton, J., & Calderon, J. (1995). The politics of diversity: immigration, resistance, and change in Monterey Park, California. Temple University Press.

Inc., P. W. N. San Gabriel Country Club, CA window._config.masthead_has_content = true; The Weather Network. https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us/forecasts/golf-report/california/san-gabriel-countryclub.

Los Angeles River Watershed. LOS ANGELES RIVER WATERSHED. https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/ losangeles/water_issues/programs/regional_program/Water_Quality_and_Watersheds/los_angeles_ river_watershed/la_summary.shtml.

180 | Bibliography and Conclusion

Los Angeles Times. (2004, March 7). When Babe Was in Boy Land of Golfing -- San Gabriel. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-07-me-then7-story.html.

Los Angeles Times. (2012, August 27). Asian American youth culture is coming of age in ‘the 626’.

Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-xpm-2012-aug-27-la-me-valley-asians20120827-story.html.

Los Angeles Times. (2019, June 30). Busloads of Chinese tourists used to visit L.A. luxury stores. Not anymore. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chinese-luxury-retail-20190630story.html.

Mavros, C. (2019, November 2). San Gabriel Country Club. GOLFADELPHIA. https://golfadelphia. com/2019/11/02/san-gabriel-country-club/.

Nrcs. Web Soil Survey. Web Soil Survey - Home. https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage. htm.

Parks and Open Space Master Plan: San Gabriel, CA - Official Website. Parks and Open Space Master Plan | San Gabriel, CA - Official Website. https://sangabrielcity.com/1203/Parks-and-Open-Space-MasterPlan.

Planning Division: San Gabriel, CA - Official Website. Planning Division | San Gabriel, CA - Official Website. https://www.sangabrielcity.com/164/Planning-Division.

San Gabriel, CA Air Quality. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from http://www.usa.com/san-gabriel-caair-quality.htm San Gabriel, CA (N San Gabriel Blvd / E Las Tunas Dr). (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https:// www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/san-gabriel/san-las San Gabriel Country Club Climate History. September Climate History for San Gabriel Country Club | Golf | California, United States Of America. https://www.myweather2.com/Golf-Courses/United-StatesOf-America/California/San-Gabriel-Country-Club/climate-profile.aspx.

San Gabriel Country Club: Private. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from https://www.greenskeeper. org/southern_california/los_angeles/san_gabriel_country_club/ San Gabriel Demographics. San Gabriel, CA. http://animateddemographics.com/san_gabriel.

San Gabriel Local History. LA County Library. https://lacountylibrary.org/sangabriel-local-history/.

San Gabriel, CA Weather. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.areavibes.com/san+gabriel-ca/weather/ Soil Data Explorer - MONTEBELLO. Soil Data Explorer | California Soil Resource Lab. https://casoilresource. lawr.ucdavis.edu/sde/?series=montebello.

Sonksen, M. (2018, September 8). On Location: Monterey Park. KCET. https://www.kcet.org/historysociety/on-location-monterey-park.

SunCalc sun position- und sun phases calculator. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://www. suncalc.org/ The Tongva. SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG. (2020, May 7). https://smbasblog.com/ the-tongva/.

U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: San Gabriel city, California. Census Bureau QuickFacts. https://www. census.gov/quickfacts/sangabrielcitycalifornia.

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USGS Water Resources Links for: 18070105 - Los Angeles. USGS Links for HUC 18070105 - Los Angeles. https://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getwatershed?18070105.

Case Studies & Theory Bibliography

AIA. (2016). Design for aging review 13: 25th anniversary. Images Publishing.

Almshouse. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.wwmarchitects.co.uk/projects/almshouse-southwark Atria Senior Living: Foster Square / Perkins Eastman. Perkins Eastman. (2017). http://www. perkinseastman.com/project_3420301_atria_senior_living_foster_square.

Blain, B. (2019, August 8). Out of office: creative small talk with Stephen Witherford and William Mann.

Retrieved from https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/stephen-witherford-william-mann-wwmarchitects-interview#pic_1 Cherry, K. (2020, June 26). Understanding Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740.

Cypress Garden Senior Living. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jsrassociates.net/china-senior-care Design Transforms a Retirement Center Into a Dream Home. (2014, October 5). Retrieved from https:// land8.com/design-transforms-a-retirement-center-into-a-dream-home/ Friedlander, D., Larkin, E., Newman, S., &amp; Goff, R. (2005). Intergenerational Relationships: Conversations on Practice and Research Across Cultures. Haworth Press, Inc. Fornoff, S. (2012, January 15). Nothing retiring about this Sun City / S.F. design firm helps Japanese age gracefully. Retrieved from https://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/Nothing-retiring-about-thisSun-City-S-F-2540148.php Green, J. (2019, August 9). American-style Senior Living Comes to China. Retrieved from https://dirt. asla.org/2017/03/15/american-style-senior-living-comes-to-china/ Healing. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.poddesign.net/healing/ Jencek, B. (2020). Healthy Cities: City-Making at the Intersection of Landscape Architecture and Public Health. Land8 Virtual Conference.

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Marcus, C. C., & Sachs, N. A. (2014). Therapeutic landscapes: an evidence-based approach to designing healing gardens and restorative outdoor spaces. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Oldenburg, R. (1989). The great good place: cafés, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, hair salons, and other hangouts at the heart of a community. Da Capo Press. サンシティ 宝塚. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hcm-suncity.jp/suncity/takarazuka/ 182 | Bibliography and Conclusion

Oldenburg, R. (2001). Celebrating the third place: inspiring stories about the “great good places” at the heart of our communities. Marlowe & Co. Poo, Ai-jen. (2016). The age of dignity: preparing for the elder boom in changing America. The New Press.

Santos, S. (2016, January 22). Witherford Watson Mann’s Central London Almshouse Promotes Sociability for the Elderly. Retrieved from https://www.archdaily.com/780345/central-london-almshousepromotes-sociability-for-the-elderly ShmaAdmin. (2020, September 10). Jin Wellbeing County. Shma Company Limited. https:// shmadesigns.com/work/jin-wellbeing-county/.

Shushan, L. (2018, October 14). ‘It’s like I’m part of life again’: The magic when seniors and kids do daycare together. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/elderly-childcare-salzgittermother-centre-multigenerational-10824718.

Sun City Takarazuka. (2019, September 5). Retrieved from https://www.swagroup.com/projects/sun-citytakarazuka-2/ Swaffield, S., Swaffield, S. R., & Nassauer, J. I. (2002). Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames. In Theory in landscape architecture: a reader (pp. 196–206). essay, University of Pennsylvania Press.

Swaffield, S., Swaffield, S. R., & Thayer, R. L. (2002). Three Dimensions of Meaning. In Theory in landscape architecture: a reader (pp. 104–108). essay, University of Pennsylvania Press.

Ulrich, R. (2003). Evidence Based Environmental Design for Improving Medical Outcomes.

Ulrich, R. (2002). Health Benefits of Gardens in Hospitals.

Ulrich, R. S. (1999). Effects of Gardens on Health Outcomes: Theory and Research. Pp. 27-86 in Healing Gardens: Therapeutic Benefits and Design Recommendations, edited by C. Cooper Marcus and M. Barnes. New York; John Wiley and Sons.

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Vanderven, K. (2004). Intergenerational Theory in Society. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships,2(3-4), 75-94. doi:10.1300/j194v02n03_07 Welch, A., & Lomholt, I. (2020, March 9). United St Saviour’s Charity Almshouse in Bermondsey, London - e-architect. Retrieved from https://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/united-st-saviours-charity-almshousein-bermondsey Whitbourne, S. K., & Whitbourne, S. B. (2019). Adult development and aging: biopsychosocial perspectives (6th ed.). Wiley.

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As a child, I was always very close with my grandparents, and as I’ve grown older I’ve had firsthand experience in seeing ways that the physical environment can affect older adult health. A few years ago, my family had to make the choice to place my grandmother in a board and care facility, and through that process I really became interested in the ways we address aging and older adults in the landscape. After taking a psychology of aging course and futher researching these issues, I decided to move forward with the project idea to address community development focusing on intergenerational interaction.

My choice to study landscape architecture was the sum of many different factors throughout my childhood.

From a young age, I was trained in traditional art, developing hands-on skills and finding enjoyment in the creative process. In school, I mainly enjoyed science and the technical knowledge of the world it allowed. And through musical extracurriculars, I developed a passion for helping others. My first exposure to this field was a percussion instructor who was studying landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, and after spending a summer at UC Berkeley’s embARC program, I decided that landscape architecture would be the best combination of design and scientific curiosity.

My interests in landscape architecture are mainly focused on social and health impacts, and designing in ways that can help improve the quality of people’s lives. I find joy in all scales of design, from the intricate details of a residential project to the large-scale movements of a master plan. Other interests I have in landscape architecture include horticultural therapy, landscape performance, and theoretical approaches. Outside of landscape architecture, activities I enjoy are playing the marimba and the French horn, learning how to cook within a plant-based diet, and painting.

In terms of future goals, after completing my bachelor’s degree, I hope to become a licensed professional.

Eventually, I plan to return to school and work towards a master’s degree, applying my professional experience while continuing to grow as a landscape architecture professional. My long term goals are to continue practicing in the professional realm, and teach at the university level, helping to develop the next generation of landscape architects and give back to the field that has become my passion.

Thank you for reading,

184 | Bibliography and Conclusion

EDUCATION

SKILLS

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

AutoCAD/C3D Photoshop Illustrator InDesign Sketchup Rhino Lumion Hand Rendering Plant Identification

San Luis Obispo, CA | September 2016 - June 2021 • Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, GPA 3.963 • Minors in Architecture, Indigenous Studies, & Sustainable Environments • Peer Tutor, Cal Poly Writing and Learning Center, 2021 • In-class Notetaker, Cal Poly Disability Resource Center, 2019 • Cal Poly Wind Ensemble French Horn Alternate, 2017

Awards and Recognition • • • • • • • • • •

ASLA SoCal Student Honor Award, 2021 Department Recognition for Best in Show, 2021 Department Recognition for Best Design Process, 2021 Department Recognition for Outstanding Service to the Department, 2021 Department Recognition for Academic Excellence, 2021 Student Recognition Golden Eagle Award, 2021 CLASS Fund Alec Balliet Memorial Scholarship, 2020 HLA Group / Robert Hablitzel Scholarship, 2019 CAED Connections Magazine Leaders of Tomorrow Feature, 2021 President’s List and Dean’s Honors List, 2016 - 2020

Communication Networking Organization Conflict Management Teamwork

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Intern, EDSA

Fort Lauderdale, FL | June 2019 - September 2019 • Designed at conceptual level for a Miami business plaza project • Designed signage in collaboration with project team and subconsultants • Assisted in graphics production on multiple concurrent projects • Assisted with construction document work on several international projects

Part-Time Social Media Manager, Garden Gear & Gallery

Edmonds, WA | December 2018 - September 2020 • Managed social media accounts and communicated with business owner

ACTIVIES & INVOLVEMENT Founder, National Association of Minority Landscape Architects - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA | February 2021 - Present

Social Media Manager, Cultural Capstone Association San Luis Obispo, CA | September 2020 - March 2021

Vice President & Mentorship Lead, Sigma Lambda Alpha Honors Society San Luis Obispo, CA | June 2019 - September 2020

Coordinator, Cal Poly Landscape Architecture Shadowships San Luis Obispo, CA | May 2019 - Present

Student Member, ASLA

San Luis Obispo, CA | September 2019 - Present

Online Event Coordinator, AfterHope + Asian Art Museum of SF San Luis Obispo, CA | August 2020 - November 2020

Mallet Percussionist, Multiple Organizations Anaheim, CA | September 2016 - April 2018

REFERENCES Miran Jung Day Assistant Professor, California Polytechnic State University miday@calpoly.edu (805) 756-1773 Betsy Suiter Vice President, EDSA bsuiter@edsaplan.com (904) 994-7054 Jesse Hirakawa Urban Designer, NYC Dept. of City Planning jhirakawa@planning.nyc.gov (310) 351-2269

Personal Statement and Resume | 185