CONNECT

A Look at the Changing Marketplace CONNECT

Over the past year, Perkins Eastman looked at a variety of topics that have the potential to change living environments for older adults. This ranges from the global trend of increasing life expectancy and creating environments that foster a sense of connection and belonging to bringing new life to older buildings in existing neighborhoods and transforming or creating spaces that better support caregivers and staff. Each articles offers Key Takeaways and Discussion Starters for internal gatherings. Below is a brief summary of what you’ll find in each article.

1. The Longevity Revolution: The longevity revolution refers to the global trend of increasing life expectancy and the resulting shift in demographics towards an older population. Advances in healthcare, improved living conditions, and medical breakthroughs have contributed to people living longer lives. This phenomenon presents both opportunities and challenges for societies, including the need for sustainable healthcare systems, reimagined retirement plans, and innovative approaches to addressing the unique needs of older individuals.

2. Adaptive Reuse and Senior Living: Adaptive reuse is the practice of repurposing existing buildings or spaces for new functions. In the context of senior living, adaptive reuse involves transforming old structures such as factories, schools, or warehouses into residential communities tailored to the needs of older adults. This approach not only preserves historical and architectural heritage but also addresses the growing demand for senior housing. It offers a unique blend of modern amenities within a character-rich environment, promoting a sense of community and connection among residents.

3. Designing Places Where People Feel They Belong: Designing spaces where individuals feel a sense of belonging involves creating environments that foster connection, comfort, and inclusivity. This concept is particularly important in senior living communities, where residents often seek meaningful social interactions and a sense of

purpose. Incorporating well-designed communal areas, nature elements, accessible facilities, and engaging activities can enhance residents’ wellbeing and reduce feelings of isolation. Personalized and flexible design approaches are key to ensuring that these spaces cater to diverse preferences and needs.

4. Transforming Workspaces in Senior Living: Senior living communities are evolving to meet the needs of active older populations, prompting a focus on transforming workspaces for care staff. This acknowledges the significance of providing conducive and empowering environments for caregivers who support residents. With seniors seeking engagement and productivity, there’s a growing recognition that innovative workspaces can benefit care staff as well, enhancing the overall care quality. These spaces extend beyond traditional caregiving facilities, promoting collaboration, efficiency, and well-being among staff. They can facilitate remote work, interdisciplinary consultations, and personal exploration. Technology support is vital, aiding communication and resident information access. Networking opportunities foster a supportive community among caregivers, encouraging knowledge sharing. Creating dynamic, multi-faceted work environments enhance job satisfaction, reduces burnout, and elevates resident care. This transformation aligns with broader goals of crafting inclusive, responsive senior living communities that prioritize residents and their dedicated caregivers’ well-being.

In summary, the longevity revolution is reshaping demographics, prompting innovative solutions for senior living. Adaptive reuse creatively repurposes existing structures, while designing inclusive spaces fosters a sense of belonging. Furthermore, the transformation of workspaces within senior living communities reflects the growing need to enhance job satisfaction and retention among care staff. These topics collectively highlight the dynamic and holistic approaches to creating supportive and thriving environments for seniors.

The Longevity Revolution

by Leslie Moldow FAIA & Merintha Pinson AIA

HOW DOES A LIFE PLAN COMMUNITY EVOLVE FOR THE 100-YEAR LIFE?

People are living longer than ever before. According to the codirector of the “Lab on Aging” at Harvard Medical School, the first modern person who will live to 150 has already been born. People now have access to both preventative and reactive medicinal advances that are removing the greatest barrier to longevity disease.

People are harnessing advances in technology that allow them to better understand both the short- and long-term implications of their daily routine, enabling them to make better decisions for their health. At the same time, more people are proactively embracing wellness into their routines and are able to enjoy higher quality of life for longer. With this in mind, life plan communities will need to be strategic about providing wellness-focused, purposedriven, socially vibrant communities to the centenarian consumer.

This longevity revolution is occurring at a global scale and will have many ripple effects. By 2050, the number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple

around the world.1 This has begun to change the demographics of several developed countries. In the United States specifically, there will be more elderly than children by 2060. These shifts begin to modify the societal structure that the senior living sector currently operates within. The traditional model depends on the larger population of youth to care for a smaller percentage of elders. It is designed to accommodate aging adults who lived half as long as this new generation. The traditional model is distinct and generally isolates its cohort of older adults who were likely more frail and, after working labor intensive jobs, were ready to rest rather than create a whole third act of life.

LIFE

A Report from The Stanford Center on Longevity

Invest in Future Centenarians to Deliver Big Returns

Prepare to Be Amazed by the Future of Aging Work More Years with More Flexibility Learn Throughout

Align Health Spans to Life Spans

The Stanford Center on Longevity stepped back, acknowledged these revolutionary demographic changes and proposed a “New Map of Life,” a map that integrates previously distinct phases of life to be more synergistic throughout the human lifespan. Their New Map of Life ™ initiative envisions “a society that supports people to live secure and high-quality lives for a century or more” by re-examining models for lifelong learning, working, living, financing, and creating intergenerational partnerships throughout the human lifetime. Adults who are living longer will no longer be resting, they will be active and a vital part of our society and our living environments will need to reflect those seismic shifts.

Not only should our new communities reflect these changes, they should also promote a wellness-focused lifestyle. There are lessons to be learned from the world’s “Blue Zones,” regions around the world where teams of researchers have identified groups of people with the highest proportions of centenarians and delved into their lifestyles to find common approaches that may contribute to their longevity. The research teams found nine core articulated principles that they grouped into four main themes: “Move,” “Connect,” “Eat Wisely,” and “Right Outlook.” These themes illuminate opportunities for the senior living providers and provide a framework for designing life plan communities for the 100-year life.

Nine healthy lifestyle habits shared by people who’ve lived the longest

Power 9:

Left: The New Map of Life courtesy of The Stanford Center on Longevity Above: The Power 9, courtesy of Blue Zones

Move

It is widely understood that regular exercise prevents cardiovascular disease and improves overall physical and psychological health. A Washington State University study found that people are more likely to live to 100 if they live in neighborhoods with high levels of walkability.2 Movement, for Blue Zone centenarians, is primarily achieved through regular, integrated daily activities such as their daily walk to the store, time in their garden, or meal preparation. Stanford’s longevity research also advocates integrated physical activities by promoting communities that are walkable and that incorporate urban green areas.

Life plan communities in addition to incorporating wellness centers can be intentional about integrating walking paths as an opportunity to encourage more movement. Designers can consider, when locating different activities, how residents can increase movement as they traverse from their homes to visit neighbors, grab coffee,

attend tai chi class, and enjoy an evening dinner with friends.

At Paradise Valley Estates: The Ridge in Fairfield, California, the campus’ 8-acre addition was designed to encourage movement. The site plan is focused around a creek along which an outdoor walking path meanders through native plantings and connects each residence to the community dining venues and Main Street amenities, offering a connection to the natural environment. There are also community gardens and a woodworking studio on campus for Ridge residents to stay active.

Life plan communities can also take advantage of their location to make connections outside their walls to encourage walkability. Communities located on sites with high walkability scores and by transit-oriented neighborhoods will help connect residents beyond their campus for both added movement and social connectivity.

Paradise Valley Estates: The Ridge | Fairfield, California

Both Stanford’s Longevity and Blue Zones research identify the value of social engagement to combat isolation and foster personal networks that support healthy outcomes. Daily positive lifestyle changes are more easily accomplished when the “tribe” values and shares improved diet, integrated exercise, quality sleep, and when residents can support each other’s mental health and life choices. The traditional structure of life plan communities inherently provide the opportunity to create this socially supportive network. Developers can identify niche markets and tailor life plans to people with shared values whether spiritual, cultural, personal interests, etc.

Enso Village, a Zen-inspired life plan community sponsored by the Zen Center and Kendal Corporation, a Quaker organization, is under construction in Healdsburg, CA. It is promoted as a community with a “focus on mindful aging, the joys of nature, environmental stewardship, contemplative care and healthy life choices” for older adults. The project pre-sales sold 70% of the apartments in the first 7 weeks attesting to just how much people are craving communities designed around shared values.

As people live longer, the likelihood of living single, either due to divorce or widowhood, increases. Building plans can offer new unit types that provide a co-living option where several single people can choose to live together in a larger apartment as a family.

Enso Village | Healdsburg, California

Several apartments can be arranged in a wing of a building to reinforce the feeling of a smaller identifiable neighborhood. Homes can be arranged in pocket neighborhood configurations with shared green space and entry porches oriented toward one another.

As people live longer, it will become more the norm to have several generations of people living on campus together. A centenarian may have 80-year old children and 60-year old grandchildren. There may need to be new configurations of homes on a campus to accommodate these extended multi-generational families.

Eat Wisely

One of the cornerstones of longevity, is demonstrated in the Blue Zone tenet of Eating Wisely, which incorporates the principles of a plantbased diet, eating until only 80% full, and having a glass of wine every day. Life plan communities understand the value of bringing people together over a glass of wine and quality, healthy food in an inspired setting. Longevity research also promotes integrating healthy food outlets to make healthy eating the convenient, easy choice for residents.

Communities can encourage these positive behaviors by increasing the variety and quality dining space offerings. There can also be grab-andgo marketplaces for residents who are looking for convenience, juice bars, and cafés to ensure that healthy food remains the convenient, easy choice for residents throughout the day.

Inspirata Pointe, an addition to the Royal Oaks Campus in Arizona, offers several new welldesigned dining venues that increase residents’ choice of healthy food options throughout the day and includes a great indoor/outdoor bar to enjoy happy hour.

Wearable technology and blood sugar monitoring, which has been made more accessible due to improvements in technology, also allows personalized nutritional monitoring to improve longevity.3 These strategies can be paired with an on-site or local community garden that is accessible to residents, encouraging a farm-to-table mindset and a further appreciation for healthy food. The hands-on involvement in a community garden also ties into the remaining Blue Zone principles.

Inspirata Pointe at Royal Oaks | Sun City, Arizona

The common garden is the place where seniors from the Choice in Aging adult day program and the affordable tax-credit funded senior housing can enjoy watching and interacting with children attending the

Choice in Learning Montessori school�

Right Outlook

Life plan communities that foster longevity will encourage residents to find their right outlook on life. The Blue Zones explore concepts of “purpose” and “down-shifting,” which involve harnessing ones’ calling in life and avoiding stress. As people live longer, there is greater opportunity for them to explore their “Third Act” and they will be looking for purpose-driven communities that resonate with them. Purpose-driven communities can take many shapes, but could include the aforementioned community gardens, shared meals, and mentorship within inter-generational settings, teaching, and volunteering. This principle is highly individualized and will look different for each resident and each community, but ultimately gives

each resident a “why” to get up each morning. This pursuit of purpose should also remain grounded in an environment that provides ways to dispel unavoidable stress. There should be spaces that encourage reflection, moments to meditate, or quiet spaces to nap or pray, in addition to the livelier spaces that provide outlets to shed stress.

The Choice in Aging Campus in Pleasant Hill, California, offers the seniors who participate in their adult day program an opportunity to interact with preschoolers who attend Choice in Learning, the on-campus Montessori school. One gentleman, a former art teacher, who now has memory challenges, enjoys using his skills to teach art to the

children on campus and they enjoy the projects he initiates.

Communities that provide residents opportunities to get involved in social justice work or environmental advocacy are also desired, and the Longevity Revolution research highlights the need for resilient design that reduces hazardous environments for all. Some life plan communities can be structured like ecovillages, which are communities that work together in an effort to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural environment through the design of their spaces and through positive resident behavior choices.4

Choice in Aging | Pleasant Hill, California

Conclusion

By following the principles outlined in Blue Zone Communities and underscored by the Longevity Research generated by Stanford, life plan communities can provide resilient environments that focus on quality of life and longevity for the new centenarian consumer. The senior living sector is positioned to lead the way in providing wellness-focused, purpose-driven, socially vibrant communities that benefit not only the elders they are planned for, but also the members of the communities in which they are situated in. This will make health and longevity more accessible to a wider demographic and add momentum to the Longevity Revolution.

Discussion Starters

What is the implication of the future census patterns?

Workforce housing needed; tech will take care of reduced number of staff; need to rely on immigration

85% of the people say they want to stay in their own home. It is important to provide continuity in one’s environment. How can senior services support the greater volume of seniors who may not want to be in a life plan community?

Create a Medicare Advantage Plan; create home-based services; provide adult day programs; build satellite communities by repurposing existing infrastructure

A Future Family may have a 120 year old, a 90 year old and a 65 year old. How will your community adapt to this family?

Provide large multi-generational homes on campus; provide co-living apartments; address more niche markets relating to family’s needs such as faith-based, ethnicity, etc.; provide multi-family housing adjacent to senior living projects

In the future there will be more widows, divorcees, and childless seniors. How will our communities adapt to meet their needs?

Provide adult day programs; offer room-mate matching services (Bed “Match” and Beyond); be more urban connected and transit-oriented developments; up the ratio of service providers/care givers

Above: From Pyramid to Pillar courtesy of US Census Bureau

by Alejandro Giraldo AIA & Anthony Fuscu AIA

Adaptive Reuse and Senior Living

CAN EXISTING BUILDINGS PROVIDE AN INTEGRATED, AUTHENTIC AND VIBRANT LIFESTYLE FOR OLDER ADULTS?

It is commonly understood that adaptive reuse of existing buildings can be a viable alternative to new construction. Adaptive reuse is less disruptive in many ways, helping to maintain the cultural fabric of a community and promoting a circular economy by working with current infrastructure as opposed to demolishing and building new. Although there are always unique challenges in modifying the building systems of existing structures, sustainability is a major benefit to adaptive reuse. As Carl Elefante, former president of the American Institute of Architects, famously said: “The greenest building… is the one that is already built.”

Adaptive reuse projects are not new to Perkins Eastman. From a tenement building-turned-museum (Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York) to an old cardboard manufacturing warehouse-turnedbiotech research laboratory and workplace (Smith + Nephew R&D and Medical Education Training Center in Pittsburgh), we have worked on many building transformations. This experience also extends to senior living.

Among other projects, we were early adopters of adaptive reuse, converting a convent and former school originally home to the Felician Sisters outside of Pittsburgh into an award-winning, LEED Gold-certified mixed-use complex featuring an assisted living residence for seniors and a learning environment for secondary school students.

Felician Sisters | conversion of convent to assisted living

Today, our teams work with our clients to analyze and test-fit a wide spectrum of building types to understand whether they are appropriate for converting to supportive spaces for aging adults. But in order to define how existing building stock and adaptive reuse may be a viable option for senior living, it is important to understand the changing preferences of older adults as well as the economic aspects of retirement. The Baby Boomers, long a generation that has challenged the status-quo, are objecting to the assumption that, after a certain age and upon retirement, they need to go to some ‘other’ place to age, living out their lives amongst a community of peers. In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal titled These Retirees Won’t Settle for Sleepy Suburbs— They’re Moving to the Big City, one retiree offers an opinion that who you interact with dictates who you become: “If you want to be old, hang around old people.”

Many would consider this type of thinking ageist. Given this thinking, what is the response of a design and building industry whose entire existence is based on the premise that older people prefer to hang around with other older people in buildings specifically suited to their needs (and apart from the larger, intergenerational community from which they came)?

Two mega-trends identified in Perkins Eastman’s 2019 white paper, The Clean Slate Project, “Third Act” and “Aging in the Community,” shed light on this paradigm shift. The Third Act trend represents adults who are looking for purpose-driven, postcareer experiences that are intergenerational, vocational/voluntarist, and vibrant. The trend towards Aging in Community challenges the merits of both aging in place in one’s existing home as well as relocating to a residence removed from the general population both of which can lead to isolation as one’s physical and social mobility deteriorates. Instead, this mega-trend advocates for intentional physical communities that are located within existing neighborhoods, towns, and cities where adults already live and thrive.

Developing new buildings ‘where the action is’ weaves senior living within the fabric of established communities, but can also be challenging and expensive. This is where our existing building stock enters the conversation.

Learning from Other Markets

While developers and entrepreneurs have been capitalizing on the benefits of adaptive reuse for decades it is difficult to find a city without a trendy apartment building located in a retired factory building, which then leads to additional business ventures old churches remade into breweries and restaurants, former-train stations reinvented as farmers markets the senior living sector is beginning to adopt this thinking to meet its needs. In parallel with the Third Act and Aging in Community trends, developers and architects are giving existing buildings a dynamic new stage of life, while maintaining a community fabric where they have existed for the better part of a century.

Senior living is not the first market sector to adapt existing buildings much can be learned from the residential and hospitality markets which have a long history of commercial conversions. The residential market in particular provides many examples of successful conversions of commercial buildings in urban centers. Beth Burnham Mace, chief economist at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care says, “Some developers are looking at converting unused office buildings and hotels, options increased by pandemic vacancies.” (As Baby Boomers Retire, Developers Bet Urban Senior Living Will Take Off, Wall Street Journal, 2022)

When these conversions are successful, developers see robust interest in re-imagined assets that have long been embedded within the community, from shopping malls and office buildings to hotels, schools, banks, and churches, etc. For senior living, we believe the following typologies present interesting potential.

SHOPPING MALLS

Repurposing of shopping malls is expected to be an impactful trend through 2025.5,6 While many underutilized retail centers are razed and rebuilt as mixed-use developments, some are seeing new life with non-traditional tenants, such as community amenities like senior-friendly apartments, coworking office space, intergenerational daycare, makerspaces, retail, a public library and culinary facilities that serve double-duty as teaching kitchens for a local college and as a dynamic restaurant experience. (The Clean Slate Project, Perkins Eastman, 2019)

As defunct malls look for change within their walls, they are also looking to repurpose traditional “ring road” buildings that form their perimeter. Perkins Eastman client, Akara is creating an active adult community adjacent to the Southwest Plaza Mall in Littleton, CO, that repurposes previously developed space and under-utilized mall parking. ACTIV Littleton offers an abundance of amenities,

services and programming designed around the health and wellness of its residents and creates a strong sense of place, bringing human scale to the development’s exterior.

HOTELS

As senior living embraces a hospitality service model and aims to serve broader economic and lifestyle audiences, hotel conversions have become a popular concept one which gained particular interest as COVID-19 restrictions affected travel/ tourism properties. This trend favors conversions to market rate multifamily, student housing7 and government-funded housing and shelters, with a few developers specializing in converting hotels to senior living.

Suite-style hotels are easier to convert to independent senior living or active adult due to apartment size and potential existing services. Conversions to higher levels of care are more challenging because it requires bringing buildings up to applicable codes. Some examples include

Akara Southwest Plaza Littleton| conversion of retail to senior living

conversion of a former Sheraton Hotel in Fort Meyers, Florida, into luxury independent living apartments now operating as the Campo Felice,8,9 or a hotel/convention center in Dallas, Texas, that was converted into a life plan community now operating as Truewood by Merrill at Merrill Gardens.10

OFFICES

Office conversion projects typically trend toward market and luxury multifamily reuse. 650 6th Street in New York City is an example of a historically significant office building that was converted into condos. The exterior walls and structure remained, while a new core and penthouse floor were added. A deep floor plate meant long, skinny apartments, which required creative design and detailing to bring light and mechanical ventilation to interior

rooms. Conversion of office and commercial buildings to senior living makes the most sense when co-located or co-developed with services and amenities restaurants, gyms, medical centers within walking distance or within the same building.

INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS

Not as widely discussed, conversions of institutional buildings have seen success, especially in providing affordable senior housing in smaller communities and with missionoriented groups.

Outmoded institutional buildings, such as schools, which have sat dormant, ‘mothballed’ or underutilized as populations change, represent attractive opportunities. First, they are often economical with various affordable and historic

650 Sixth Avenue | conversion of office building to residential

restoration tax credits full of character and well built. Second, communities are generally supportive of these projects because of the historical significance of the buildings. Finally, they help adults remain in their communities, staying invested in the places where they built their lives.11

Former skilled care buildings, hospitals, medical centers, and sanatorium-like institutions, with their ready layouts of plumbed rooms/units can be good candidates for conversions. For example, Perkins Eastman converted an existing floor in a medical office building into the Abramson Center: Lankenau Transitional Care Center in Wynnewood, PA, to provide a supportive healing experience focused on skilled care and rehabilitative services. Further, the St. Charles Hospital and Ravenswood Hospital, both in Chicago, Illinois, are examples of successful conversions to senior apartments, the

former building also received historic tax credits due to its placement on the National Register of Historic Places.12,13

Land-rich but cash-poor urban churches have also found ways to advance their social mission by capitalizing on underutilized property or facilities. Strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations can help congregations access the latent value of their facilities and land to further their mission. In the former Second Presbyterian Church in Newark, New Jersey, built in the late 1880s, Amazon-owned audiobook company Audible is using a historic church to house an engineering and development hub for 350 people. Though no changes were made to the historic exterior of the building; the adaptive reuse of the building includes new floors and mezzanines, and challenging structural and mechanical systems are

Bath Haus Greenpoint | conversion of bathhouse to residential

Abramson Center: Lankenau Center| conversion of medical office to transitional care

Audible: 15 James Street | conversion of church to office space

integrated to the core and shell to upgrade the long-vacant property for a high-tech user such as Audible / Amazon.

Finding the right building

When examining a building for reuse for senior living, there are certain building systems considerations to take into account. Ideally, the structural grid should be similar to the typical spacing of residential and senior living buildings to accommodate apartment modules. To ensure natural light and ventilation to all rooms, floor plates should not be too deep. The location of the core should provide easy access to all apartments from vertical (elevators and stairs) circulation. Lastly, the HVAC system should be able to be upgraded to the most efficient residential types with ability to control at the unit level.

Given these factors, certain building stock may not be well-suited for conversion to senior living. Some buildings may not be able to satisfy state licensing requirements without major modifications to elements such as hallways and vertical circulation. Additionally, in some jurisdictions, entitlements may be lengthy and difficult since a change of use is often required when adapting a building originally zoned as commercial.

As mentioned in the introduction, sustainability is one of the major benefits of reusing existing building stock, as it saves construction waste and reduces embodied carbon, (the carbon footprint of those materials already present in the existing building). Additionally, sustainability and wellness metrics, including LEED and WELL, typically have special provisions for reuse that can be easier to obtain than building new, further incentivizing smart reuse.

Embracing diversity in lifestyle and culture

Many successful and innovative examples of adaptive reuse showcase the benefits of convergence multiple markets coming together to create unique environments that offer lifestyle diversity. The WeWork: WeLive project in Arlington, Virginia, a conversion and repurposing of a 1960s office building into a mixed-use development with housing, office and retail, is one such example. The project combines living

Westin: One Main Place Plaza | conversion of office building to hotel by ForrestPerkins, a Perkins Eastman studio

Understanding the Boomer consumer’s desire to be where the action is, we might say that the most integrated, authentic, and vibrant buildings for older adults may be the ones that are already built.

and working spaces, and includes co-working offices on the uppermost two levels to provide the surrounding community with leasable co-working space. This work space allows for an intermingling of both the co-living inhabitants and those in the surrounding community. Projects like WeWork: WeLive that embrace convergence align well with the notion of the Third Act and the desire for intergenerational and cultural diversity.

Adaptive Reuse: Evolving Purpose

While there are many considerations to make when exploring existing building stock for senior living, thinking differently about how to repurpose and reinvent applying new ideas to age-old problems is precisely the dynamic and astute thinking we need. This creates opportunities to make better use of the buildings we have and pay homage to the people in our communities, addressing different markets and potentially making senior housing more affordable and inclusive moving forward. Understanding the Boomer consumer’s desire to be where the action is, we might say that the most integrated, authentic, and vibrant buildings for older adults may be the ones that are already built.

Discussion Starters

As a prospective resident and given the choice, would you rather move into a building that has been adapted to senior living housing if the location is in a vibrant existing neighborhood or community?

Would you consider an existing structure that could meet program and operational requirements in a micro-urban or urban location rather than a suburban “green field” site?

Would you consider an urban existing and adaptable structure/site for a satellite campus for your organization?

Would you consider partnering with a retail or office landlord or group to develop a senior living community?

Is active adult a better option for an adaptive use project?

Have you ever considered the concept of a “vertical Main Street” campus?

by Brianne Johnson Pham AIA

Emily Pierson-Brown

Inclusive Communities

DESIGNING PLACES WHERE PEOPLE FEEL THEY BELONG

As we progress through our lives, community often happens organically. It gets built around our siblings, our elementary school soccer teams, the high school band, the neighborhood basketball court, a college dormitory, shared classes, the office lunchroom, our kids’ ballet and art lessons, or the local dog park. But as people transition into the third act of their lives and often away from these ingrained patterns of communal gathering, how can we recapture that sense of belonging in a new place?

Defining a Shared Language

The following definitions are adapted from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Guides for Equitable Practice and the Cornell Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program. These were developed in the context of the workplace and have been lightly edited for applicability.

Diversity: A mix of people with a wide range of visible and invisible personal and group characteristics, backgrounds, experiences, and preferences. This can also include differences between building industry disciplines, the aims and agendas of firms, or roles on a project team.

Inclusion: Creating an environment where everyone is welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. It relies on mutual adaptation through which differences are embraced and negotiated.

Equity: The state in which everyone is treated in a manner that results in equal opportunity and access, according to their individual needs. Equity in the workplace requires identifying and eliminating barriers that have disadvantaged nondominant identity groups to assure that all individuals receive equitable treatment, opportunity, and advancement regardless of identity; it also means that some individuals will need more support than others.

Belonging: The feeling that a person has that they are a valued part of a group. This can be considered the inverse action of Inclusion. Where Inclusion is the series of actions and decisions taken to bring people in, the sense of Belonging is the resultant collection of emotions that proves the Inclusive strategies have taken hold.

Equality: Equality is a form of fairness achieved by treating people with dominant and nondominant identities in the same manner, whatever the disparities may be at their starting points. Equal treatment, however well-intentioned, may sustain inequities. The term is often used in contrast with equity.

Justice: Justice, or social justice, denotes the assurance of fair treatment; equal economic, political, and social rights; and equitable opportunities and outcomes for all. It also encompasses a repairing of past wrongs, transformative justice, and accountability.

Exposing one’s authentic identity is at the heart of finding community and sense of belonging. But when that identity comes with perceived risks, community can be much more difficult to find. Particularly for people who identify as LGBTQ, finding community is not always so straightforward. On April 22 of this year, The New York Times featured an article on SAGE, an LGBTQ advocacy group that specifically supports mature adults by connecting them to housing, services, healthcare, and cultural programming. Housing is a critical issue for LGBTQ people. A 2018 survey of people over the age of 45 who identified as LGBT revealed that 34 percent are worried they would have to hide their identity to gain access to suitable housing, and a recent study from UCLA reported that sexual minority adults are twice as likely as the general population to experience homelessness.14 Finding acceptance in a community can be more than just a comfort. The Times article profiled one new resident of Stonewall House, a SAGE housing development in Brooklyn, who finally found stable housing after a lifetime of struggle. “There are people like me in this building,” she said.

Finding “people like me,” can be challenging for aging adults from any demographic group. According to the 2020 US Census, the United States is more ethnically and racially diverse than ever before in history.15 We often gravitate to those who look and act similarly to ourselves. But as the Othering and Belonging Institute at The University of California, Berkeley, explains, finding community is not as simple as finding other people who look like you. A sense of belonging comes from “having a meaningful voice and the opportunity to participate in the design of political, social, and cultural structures.” Or in this case the right to both contribute and make demands upon a community where they live.

Generally referred to as “The Big Eight” identities, these categories are often expanded to include characteristics such as appearance, marital status, political ideology, and education.

Belonging is increasingly being added to the series of terms companies and organizations are using to better understand how people identify, interact, communicate, and build relationships. The concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are critical to building communities around shared values and desired outcomes, often unrelated to skin color or sexual orientation.

Priya Living

BUILDING COMMUNITY AROUND HAPPINESS AND CULTURE

“Life is Better, Living Together” is the motto for Priya Living, a senior living provider that focuses on culture and community. With its roots in the Indian diaspora, Priya Living looks to “build culture in a way that transcends culture,” according to Arun Paul, Priya’s CEO. Priya’s first communities began as safe spaces for those with a shared cultural identity to live, wanting to ensure no one was lonely. A 2020 study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that 25% of people over the age of 65 feel socially isolated.16 Many times, this is higher in minority populations. Loneliness has been attributed with many increased health risks, such as depression, heart disease risk, and dementia. Ensuring that residents are not lonely is a big part of Priya’s mission.

Initially, Priya did not provide many amenities to its residents. Priya positioned its first properties adjacent to cultural infrastructure, drawing residents in, while also providing access to amenities that did not yet exist within the community, such as culinary service. The communities have since grown, now having multiple locations across the country, and so have the amenities. The culinary program, heavily influenced by the traditionally vegetarian diet of India, continues to expand. This has been a draw for not only the Indian diaspora, but also for residents interested in a plant-based diet. Offering a variety of separately packaged proteins, residents can personalize their meals while still being respectful of others’ choices. Priya is also looking at more flexibility in their dining program,

Setting New Industry Standards

LeadingAge, the market sector’s primary representation for nonprofit aging services providers has embraced diversity, equity, and inclusion in their programming and conversations, reflecting the importance of these issues to their membership. Recently, LeadingAge established a DE&I Council within the organization and formulated a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group on the website that invites members to collaborate and share stories about how they are integrating DE&I practices in their organizations.

At the recent Leadership Summit in April 2022, several sessions addressed DE&I directly, and the thread continued throughout other sessions. Sessions that featured DE&I topics included:

2-A. Aligning Organizational Values and DEI: Challenges and Opportunities

11-B. Building a Diverse Workforce Pipeline One Intern at a Time

18-D. Inclusive Leadership: Leveraging Our Roles to Create Cultures of Empathy, Trust and Belonging

25-E. Creating A Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Workplace Culture

29-F. Creating Pathways of Advancement for Employees of Color

as not everyone wants to sit down to dinner in a dining room every day of the week. Having access to food throughout the day, along with grab-and-go options, allows for more individual choice. Providing choice and flexibility helps to bridge between a single cultural group or individual preference and a larger community.

Perkins Eastman is currently working on several projects with Priya. The Rochester Hills project in Michigan just completed construction documents and hopes to start construction early this Fall. For Priya’s new communities, community partnerships are critical to the success and happiness of their residents. Similar to how cultural infrastructure was utilized by their first properties to support the needs to the community, Priya continues to build community partnerships that foster social connection. Whether it be through a religious service, art classes with local high schoolers, or laughter yoga, bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together helps build empathy, joy, and compassion.

The Chai Bar and Market offers a “taste of home” with traditional Indian food and drink. It’s a place to gather together with friends and family in the creation of community.

The Masti Lounge is a place to relax and have fun in a casual setting. Residents may enjoy music and Bollywood films, and other group activities.

A modern and familiar space, the resident courtyard will offer pops of color to bring joy and surprise to this garden.

The Connector building will literally “connect” the two pieces of the Newton community, bringing together the existing community of Coleman House and the new moderate-income apartments at Opus. The generous terrace adjacent to the main spaces allows gathering to flow from inside to outside.

2Life Opus | Newton

KIBBUTZ, NOT CRUISE SHIP

Long-term relationships are central to the work Perkins Eastman delivers. Our collaboration with the leadership at 2Life Communities supports a joint effort to translate their mission—to demonstrate new, creative ways to support aging in community through affordability, connection and purpose, and innovation—into thoughtful, humancentered design.

For years, Amy Schectman, the CEO of 2Life, has described their work as building an older adult “kibbutz”. This model of community building centers around the intentional and integral relationship of residents to everyday activities and the vibrant life of the community. She pits this model against that of a cruise ship, a service-heavy place in which one’s every whim is catered to. Not only does the kibbutz model decrease operating costs, allowing for folks in more middle-income ranges to live here, but in early focus groups, those folks were eager to engage in the life of the community in meaningful ways. An innovative concept in older adult housing was born of this idea -- the Opus Community.

Co-located with Coleman House, one of 2Life’s existing low-income communities, the new apartments at Opus—Newton will fill a current gap in the adult housing market with apartments that are affordable for more moderate incomes. These independent living apartment buildings will occupy the same site in Newton, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. The Coleman House is a mostly 5-story low-income older adult housing apartment building comprised of 146 affordable independent living apartments. Over the past several years, Coleman House has been getting a facelift. Renovation work includes new windows, an updated design to the brick facade as well as updates to the mechanical and sprinkler systems and interior finishes. The apartments will undergo significant renovations to the kitchens and bathrooms which are geared towards added maneuverability and flexibility.

After this renovation is complete, the entirely new Opus Building will be built. The Opus apartment building will offer 174 independent

The new Opus apartments (right) are joined to the existing Coleman House apartments (left) by the Connector (center).

Designing for Flexibility

Joining the two residence buildings is the Connector, a two-story light-filled building containing a series of highly flexible gathering spaces to accommodate a variety of social, culinary, and fitness needs. By connecting the two residential buildings through the amenity space, it will encourage residents, staff, and visitors to form a larger community that breaks down the barriers of income and class, leading to a more equitable community.

This series of design studies by our interiors team illustrates the many ways the amenity spaces in the Connector building can flex to accommodate a variety of activities, greatly reducing the amount of space needed overall.

living residences in six stories over two stories of parking. The exterior is designed to settle into the landscape with wings stepping down and softening at the edges to relate to the context around it. Variegated siding colors and patterns recall the fall foliage that surrounds the site in the autumn months. A masonry base speaks directly to the geology and geography of New England. Joining the two residence buildings is the Connector, a two-story light-filled building containing a series of highly flexible gathering spaces to accommodate a variety of social, culinary, and fitness needs. By connecting the two residential buildings through the amenity space, it will encourage residents, staff, and visitors to form a larger community that breaks down the barriers of income and class, leading to a more equitable community.

Sustainability should be considered an aspect of building inclusively. Our relationship to the earth and respect for nature requires us to think holistically about how we use resources

and occupy the land. On this project, Perkins Eastman has the benefit of working with clients who are already well-versed in and committed to sustainability on multiple levels. The new construction Opus building will be designed to LEED Gold and Passive House standards. The Coleman renovation will seek WELL Certification and Enterprise’s Green Communities certification, a nonprofit certification that addresses America’s affordable housing crisis through the goals of increasing supply, advancing racial equity, and building resiliently. A PV solar array will cover the roofs of both apartment buildings, and numerous electric car charging stations will be located in the garage at Opus. The design incorporates economic sustainability in its ratio of low- and middleincome, modest-sized apartments with flexible amenity space. The location for the new building was selected in order to capitalize on existing development within a vibrant community.

The interior of the Connector is a flexible series of gathering spaces that supports dining, lounging, small group discussions, and large community events.

IDEAS: Inclusivity Starts with the Process

Many communities for older adults consider DE&I to be a cornerstone of their brand. Being welcoming and inclusive is important for attracting new customers, but is also at the heart of many communities’ missions. A critical way to ensure that people feel a sense of contributing meaningfully to their communities is to involve them in the decision-making process. This can be particularly crucial for communities undergoing or considering change through a master planning process.

For nearly 15 years, we have been using an inclusive process that aims to build consensus with multiple stakeholder groups. Based on traditional community engagement methods, the IDEAS process integrates design, economics, and assessment of existing facilities into a strategy that communities can use to holistically study an appropriate approach to moving forward. The process incorporates a community’s own mission and is inclusive in its focus on the residents, staff, leadership, and governance structures that encompasses a “community.”

To further support the inclusive intention, we include a diverse group of thought leaders and planners on our side to ensure a variety of perspectives is considered. This diversity spans across generations, genders, ethnicities, and experience levels. We also incorporate varying types of technology to best engage stakeholder groups and capture the data necessary to help clients make informed decisions.

The IDEAS process is inherent to our mission of emphasizing diversity, vitality, and conscious inclusion as essential components of our work life, and embodies the very essence of what it means to be Human by Design.

Throughout the design process, we have strived to ensure the existing Coleman residents are included in design decisions and understand project outcomes. The residents of the Coleman House are primarily Russian, Chinese, and English speaking. Through working with the 2Life Communities translator, summary design documents of the Coleman renovations and Opus preliminary design were provided to the residents in all three languages.

One of the innovative features of Opus—Newton will be a volunteer program initiated by 2Life. To keep operating costs to a minimum and to encourage involvement in the life of the community, each resident will perform a certain number of service hours per month in an activity of their choosing. The building design is responsive to this unique component through clear circulation paths, moments for pause and small gatherings, and volunteer stations that will support these activities. Every aspect of this project was designed for active adults to age in community while contributing to the vibrancy and social life of the place that will encourage everyone to feel that they belong.

Discussion Starters

How can communities be inclusive of different backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures while staying true to the mission of the organization?

As the United States moves toward becoming a “minority majority” country, how can communities appeal to a more diverse set of consumers who may be looking for a variety of options and outcomes?

What does it mean for an organization to “build culture in a way that transcends culture?”

Baby Boomers are looking for a “Third Act” that will align with their social and cultural values as well as their wallets � What can communities do to attract this social justice-minded cohort to a particular place?

When looking at the continuum of care, are there ways in which inclusivity manifests differently along the continuum? What may be different for an active adult community versus a memory care environment?

Sample design selection board with English, Russian, and Chinese text.

Integration with the landscape is a primary focus of the Opus community. Native plants cover the terrain between a series of walking paths and the building foundations to invite residents and visitors to experience the natural environment.

by Hillary DeGroff IIDA & Samantha Belfoure IIDA

ChangingPerspective

The staff lounge at The David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering features ample spaces for employees to take a break so they can return to work refreshed.

ChangingPerspective TRANSFORMING WORK SPACES IN SENIOR LIVING

Over the last three years, the global workforce has experienced an unprecedented series of shifts in the ways that people engage with their colleagues, clients, and above all, their physical place of work. Many sectors have already proactively started to evaluate what these shifts mean and the solutions that can better support their employees and their bottom line. Work spaces for senior living should be no different.

In addition to having a dedicated space that is beautiful, it has to be functional.

Tim Johnson, CEO of Frasier community

For the new generation of worker, “work” represents more than just a 9am - 5pm job. Outside of day-to-day tasks, work is increasingly tied to a sense of personal fulfillment, the opportunity for professional growth, and a company culture and workplace that is holistically supportive of these values. However, as companies take a deeper look at their dedicated physical work and break spaces within their senior living communities, a large gap often exists between workers’ aspirations and the spaces that best support this.

Design for senior living has traditionally prioritized the resident and visitor experience. And rightfully so, as residents, families, and visitors are the customers and primary end-users. However, is the hierarchy of focusing architecture and design on the experience of the resident (and then administration, with care team members coming last) outdated? Data suggests that employee satisfaction can be directly linked to productivity in office environments; it’s not a stretch to theorize that the same would apply for employees in senior living. If the experience of the resident is primary, the people caring for residents must be equally important.

With the Millennial and Generation Z workforce attracted to meaningful, relational work, the senior living sector is prime for evolution. Providers have the opportunity to improve upon workforce challenges by integrating supportive spaces and systems to create an inspiring work environment for all. Paying better attention to the ways that spaces can support all staff—from caregivers to culinary workers—addresses a variety of common issues within the senior living sector, including:

• Burnout: When team members have an outlet to truly take a break and decompress between shifts, their ability to return to the job refreshed and continue to exercise patience, compassion, and resident-centered care increases.

• Recruitment and retention: When communities demonstrate thoughtfulness and invest in how they support their team and their continued growth, it links directly to employees wanting to work with them and stay.

• Value beyond salary: Going hand-in-hand with the goals of attraction and retention, if employees are supported more holistically, a decision to leave will not be solely based on salary. The benefits of employee wellbeing play a huge role in overall employee satisfaction.

• Acceptance of the aging process: As communities begin to break down the barriers between resident space, employee space, and even public community space, we may also see a greater mainstream acceptance of the aging process. The more team members and the outside community understand the natural process of aging and how to support older adults, we may see less ageism in our society.

We believe that a deeper exploration into the nature of senior living work will help uncover many untapped design opportunities. We also believe that successful design trends in markets outside of senior living—workplace, higher education, and healthcare, for example—can influence the future of workplace design in senior living, offering a refreshing new perspective to how we design spaces to support caregivers and staff.

This employee pantry at pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim provides dedicated spaces for employees to break for healthy meals and snacks in an informal setting.

Perkins Eastman Pittsburgh studio is a hybrid workspace which includes small phone rooms for privacy, an employee wellness room, and booth spaces for collaboration, in addition to traditional desk workspaces.

Variety in the Workplace

A residential and care community does not conjure up images of “workplace.” It’s not the traditional setting that we associate with desks and offices, as you might see in a corporate office. Most often we see a dedicated staff break room or locker room that rarely seems adequate in terms of space allocation, functional variety, or even location. However, says principal Alejandro Giraldo, “The days of relegating staff breaks rooms to the basement are long gone.”

To combat the battle for dedicated space, trends in workplace design and the variety of spaces offered for employees (above and beyond the traditional desk or workstation) can inform how we design spaces for caregivers. In a recent example, Perkins Eastman transformed its Pittsburgh studio from a traditional office setup to better support hybrid work. The design team for this project created many different work points throughout the space, which range from small focus rooms and impromptu ledge seats with views of downtown Pittsburgh, to intimate booths similar to what you might find at your local coffee shop. While there are standard desking zones, employees are encouraged to use all areas around the office throughout the day. This freedom of choice provides more flexibility to support many different types of individual work preferences.

TRANSLATION TO SENIOR LIVING

We can start to apply this communal concept into senior living. By encouraging staff to utilize areas throughout the community, we are providing variety and choice and a broader connection to the entire community. Why couldn’t a staff member have their lunch in the bistro? Or, use the meditation room for a quiet moment? While these are all good examples to support overlap, what about the more

private moments, for example, important phone calls or a place for nursing parents?

At the Frasier community in Boulder, CO, we found that team members were using their cars during break time for personal calls, because Frasier had no dedicated staff space for private calls. As a result, a phone room and wellness room were incorporated into the design of the dedicated staff

lounge. A workplace nook was also developed where team members could complete coursework or study. Tim Johnson, CEO of Frasier community, is convinced of the need to incorporate these spaces into the design. “In addition to having a dedicated space that is beautiful, it has to be functional. Having a sink, refrigerator, and space to spread out is critical. Also, having rooms for privacy and for introverts who need to recharge their batteries is important,” he says. In recognizing the variety of physical and emotional needs for their care staff’s break time, Frasier is anticipating that the result will be a more rejuvenated team of caregivers.

As is planned for the Frasier community in Boulder, CO, semiprivate nooks and phone rooms at OAK Health, an AARPfunded athletic club project outside of Washington, DC, give staff and visitors the opportunity to step aside for phone calls and privacy.

Connection to Nature: Healthcare

As we explore these spacial options for the senior living workplace, maintaining indoor-outdoor connections should be an underlying concept. Evidence suggests that simply incorporating natural daylight into interior spaces can drastically improve one’s health, both mentally and physically. As we’ve explored in previous research in our white paper, Biophilic Design: An Alternative Perspective for Sustainable Design in Senior Living, we can begin to understand the how and why natural light integration is so critical in the built environment.

At the recently completed Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, CA, the design emphasis was based wholly on overall wellness and integrated natural connections. Staff, patients, and guests enter through an inviting sunlit atrium, seamlessly connecting them to areas throughout the hospital. At the heart of the hospital is the third floor’s 40,000 square foot garden, which integrates native plantings, lushly landscaped nooks of built-in seating, and rejuvenating sunlit congregate areas promoting rest and self-care. Caregivers flock to these spaces whether it is to spend time during a break or to connect with patients. It has become a natural extension of the other programmed interior spaces of the hospital.

TRANSLATION TO SENIOR LIVING

Similar to the philosophy of the Stanford Hospital, Enso Village in Sonoma County, CA, employs nature as a foundation for the entire community. This senior housing residence is Zen-inspired, which means that it purposefully creates a connection between the outdoors and indoors for all spaces, including those for the caregivers. The interior spaces incorporate natural materials that create a seamless transition from indoors to outdoors. Recognizing the importance of providing natural settings to enhance ease, comfort, and peace, Enso Village is envisioning a community where the traditional senior living values are present, but executed in a way that considers all users equally.

and natural finishes.

Enso Village brings the outdoor in with expansive windows

Stanford Hospital features a large garden of native plantings for the enjoyment of staff, patients, and visitors.

This communicating stair in the Commons of McKelvey Hall brings together faculty, graduate students, and PhD candidates for planned and serendipitous meetings.

One Community: Higher Education

Blurring the lines between resident- and staffdesignated spaces is also important for caregiver experience. Our colleagues who specialize in higher education have been working on this concept for quite some time. At McKelvey Hall at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, a cutting-edge facility for computer science, various research disciplines are connected to one another with a series of communicating stairs that come together in the Commons. This central collaboration space reflects the transformative vision of McKelvey Hall: contemporary, flexible spaces that amplify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty, graduate students, and PhD candidates have a number of shared spaces at their disposal, including work areas, specialty laboratories, offices, flexible classrooms, as well as social and collaboration spaces. This bridging helps eliminate user hierarchy, creating a dynamic that celebrates autonomy and ownership—key components of worker satisfaction.

TRANSLATION TO SENIOR LIVING

Similarly, at the Frasier community, careful consideration was given to where the C-suite administrative area would be located. Frasier administration recognized that they had unused space in the basement of The Canyons—the arts and education center, and ultimately decided to relocate the offices there. The Frasier team also wanted to ensure residents felt welcome in these spaces, resulting in positioning two larger meeting areas adjacent to the office suite lobby. While staff will use the spaces for traditional meetings and conferences. residents may also use these rooms for programs, speaking engagements, and external community programs. The space is further adaptable: during events the lobby becomes a pre-function space and the meeting rooms open directly to it through the use of large bi-fold doors. As Frasier has grown, meeting space for resident events has increased which decreased their ability to offer space to the outside community.

“By having more meeting space, we can continue to have the outside Boulder community use our space,” says Frasier’s CEO Tim Johnson. These welcoming community spaces set the tone for true community, one that feels safe and comfortable for all.

The Peak Canyons Garden office suite at Frasier has open community spaces alongside its administrative areas.

Fostering community is a central element of Oak Health Club’s vision. A prototype project guided by AARP, this facility is designed to encourage adults of all ages, whether patrons or staff, to interact and share in the pursuit of fitness together.

Conclusion: Investing in the Future

Today’s workers seek work and work environments that honor their passions and values. When care teams are supported emotionally and physically, they are better able to focus on finding the meaning and purpose in their roles. We think when these spatial and programmatic support systems are incorporated into the design for the senior living workforce, we will see decreased burnout, increased attraction and retention, diminished wage wars, and a greater acceptance of the aging process.

When the caregiver workforce is valued, engaged, and sees growth potential and opportunity for ownership in their duties, the compassion shows in the way they care for the residents. When someone loves what they do and is supported by their employer, they take pride in their work and the energy radiates throughout the entire community.

Discussion Starters

What is your community doing now to support staff health and holistic wellness?

How can you build upon that foundation to develop a more robust plan for support spaces?

With your current programs, how can the built environment foster connections between residents, staff, and the outside community?

Name a few recent experiences you’ve had in your work environment that have provided opportunities for rest, privacy, socialization, and connection to nature �

How can you integrate these experiences into your community in a meaningful way for all team members?

Endnotes

1 World Health Organization. (n.d.). Ageing and health. World Health Organization. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.who.int/ news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health#:~:text=By%202050%2C%20the%20world’s%20population,2050%20to%20reach%20 426%20million.

2 Bhardwaj, R., Amiri, S., Buchwald, D., & Amram, O. (2020). Environmental Correlates of Reaching a Centenarian Age: Analysis of 144,665 Deaths in Washington State for 2011−2015. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8), 2828. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082828

3 Hyman, M. (Host). (2021, August 11). The Secret to Longevity, Reversing Disease, and Optimizing Health: Fixing Metabolism (No. 183) [Audio podcast episode]. In The Doctor’s Farmacy. https://drhyman.com/blog/2021/08/11/podcast-ep183/

4 Ecovillage Farm. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from http://ecovillagefarm.org/

5 Northspyre. (2021, August 30). The pandemic is making old buildings new again. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.northspyre. com/blog/pandemic-adaptive-reuse

6 Millard, B. (2021, November 8). Home sweet office: Commercial-to-residential conversions. AIA New York. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.aiany.org/membership/oculus-magazine/article/fall-2021/home-sweet-office-commercial-to-residential-conversions/

7 Mian, Q. (2020, July 28). It’s an optimal time for converting hotel assets to multi-family. Building. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https:// building.ca/feature/its-an-optimal-time-for-converting-hotel-assets-to-multi-family/

8 Cirz, R. T. (2014, May 21). Retiring at the Ritz-a guest post from Llenrock group. Retiring at the Ritz-A Guest Post from Llenrock Group. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.irr.com/news/retiring-at-the-ritz-a-guest-post-from-llenrock-group-5691

9 Gerace, A. (2013, December 3). Former Sheraton Hotel slated for $55 million senior living conversion. Senior Housing News. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://seniorhousingnews.com/2013/12/03/former-sheraton-hotel-slated-for-55-million-senior-living-conversion/

10 Cirz, R. T. (2014, May 21). Retiring at the Ritz-a guest post from Llenrock group. Retiring at the Ritz-A Guest Post from Llenrock Group. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.irr.com/news/retiring-at-the-ritz-a-guest-post-from-llenrock-group-5691

11 Kimura, D. (2012, July 12). School conversions breathe life into affordable housing. Multifamily Executive. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/design-development/school-conversions-breathe-life-into-affordable-housing_o

12 Sudo, C. (2018, September 24). How adaptive reuse is helping create the senior housing of tomorrow. Senior Housing News. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://seniorhousingnews.com/2018/09/24/adaptive-reuse-helping-create-senior-housing-tomorrow/

13 Chicago Tribune. (2016, October 12). Transformation of historic former hospital in Aurora marks a milestone. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/ct-abn-aurora-stcharles-1013-20161012-story.html

14 Wilson, B. D. M., Choi, S. K., Harper, G. W., Lightfoot, M., Russell, S., & Meyer, I. H. (2020, May). Homelessness among LGBT adults in the US. UCLA School of Law Williams Institute. Retrieved June 1, 2022, from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbthomelessness-us/

15 Jensen, E., Jones, N., Rabe, M., Pratt, B., Medina, L., Orozco, K., & Spell, L. (2021, August 12). The chance that two people chosen at random are of different race or ethnicity groups has increased since 2010. Census.gov. Retrieved June 1, 2022, from https://www.census. gov/library/stories/2021/08/2020-united-states-population-more-racially-ethnically-diverse-than-2010.html

16 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25663.

Additional Resources

Othering and Belonging Institute (UC Berkeley)

SAGE NY Times Article

AIA Guides to Equitable Practice

Abdul Raziq, Raheela Maulabakhsh, Impact of Working Environment on Job Satisfaction, Procedia Economics and Finance, Volume 23, 2015, Pages 717-725, ISSN 2212-5671, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00524-9. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S2212567115005249)

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Authors

The Longevity Revolution

Leslie Moldow FAIA, LEED AP

Principal

San Francisco

+1 415 926 7917

l.moldow@perkinseastman.com

Adaptive Reuse and Senior Living

Alejandro Giraldo AIA

Principal

Stamford

+1 203 251 7435

a.giraldo@perkinseastman.com

Inclusive Communities

Brianne Johnson Pham AIA

Senior Associate

San Francisco

+1 650 497 6306

b.pham@perkinseastman.com

Changing Perspective

Samantha Belfoure

NCIDQ, IIDA, LEED AP BD+C

Associate Principal

Pittsburgh

+1 412 894 8333

s.belfoure@perkinseastman.com

Merintha Pinson AIA, LEED AP

Senior Associate

San Francisco

+1 415 926 7913

m.pinson@perkinseastman.com

Anthony Fusco AIA

Senior Associate

Washington, DC

+1 202 495 7435

a.fusco@perkinseastman.com

Emily Pierson-Brown AIA

Senior Associate

Pittsburgh

+1 412 894 8323

e.pierson@perkinseastman.com

Contact Us

Alejandro Giraldo AIA

Principal, Practice Area Leader

New York

+1 202 971 4995

a.giraldo@perkinseastman.com

Brad Fanta CPSM

Senior Associate, Marketing

+1 737 273 3814

b.fanta@perkinseastman.com

Emily Chmielewski EDAC

Senior Associate,

Design Research Director

Pittsburgh

+1 412 894 8366

e.chmielewski@perkinseastman.com