Projects

Landis Homes – Learning & Wellness Center and Crossings Apartments

Lititz, PA

Constructed front and center on an existing campus, these senior living apartments and community center connect lifelong learning, holistic wellness and vibrant community.

Community Front Door for Lifelong Learning and Wellness

Located in the heart of campus and visible from the adjacent roadway, the new Learning and Wellness Center fills the need for a community front door. Designed to be a bustling center of activity where connections flourish, the main floor houses a bistro and lounge, art gallery, salon and spa, business center, bank, pharmacy, and auditorium to support the community’s Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning® classes and other educational and entertainment programs. Spiritual wellness is encouraged in The Quiet Place, a series of small rooms for meditation. The new center also allowed for a consolidation of administrative offices into one central location.

Fitness Spaces

Fitness spaces are located on the ground floor with both internal access and a separate entrance for residents walking, biking or driving from other parts of campus. This area includes a four-lane lap and therapy pool and a spa pool with natural lighting, a state-of-the-art cardio and strength training room with equipment designed for an active aging population and a wellness studio to support group classes.

Crossings Apartments

The Crossings Apartments replaced older single homes with higher density housing that reflects current consumer demands. These new residences provide an indoor connection to community amenities and feature a mix of one bedroom plus den, two bedroom and two bedroom plus den apartments ranging from 1,253 to 1,569 square feet. Open floor plans, natural light and abundant storage were the priorities for these residences. Each apartment also includes one under-building covered parking space.

Community Connections

This project also includes an interior pedestrian bridge over the driveway to provide an interior connection to this campus hub.  Residents, team members and visitors are able to walk under cover from the Health Care and Personal Care houses, through The Crossings and the Learning & Wellness Center, and all the way to the apartments on the west side of the community. President/CEO Larry Zook shared that bringing the different parts of campus together under one roof was something residents and team members have dreamed of for many years.

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Waverly Heights Community Center Updates

Gladwyne, PA

Waverly Heights’ community center updates focused on dining venues and wellness spaces, and also provided a more open and welcoming entry experience. The former reception area was replaced with a concierge desk and the corridor was widened to provide a contemporary seating area that reflects the vernacular of Philadelphia’s Main Line. Connections to a 100-year-old mansion on the campus are now a highlight of the first impression by showcasing the historical building’s exposed stone walls.

A Fresh Approach to Food Preparation and a New Attitude Toward Dining

The casual dining experience transitioned from a predictable cafeteria style service with behind the scenes food preparation to a front and center display of food preparation at its finest. The transformation supports dining service and production changes allowing an emphasis on farm-to-table ingredients and made-to-order selections, as well as increased chef engagement with residents. The new scatter-style food stations utilize up-to-date technology innovations to keep foods precisely hot or cold for longer times while helping to alleviate circulation issues and resulting wait times associated with the former cafeteria style set-up. Removing walls that  separated the dining areas from the serving lines allowed more natural light into the space and created an open and appealing setting that elevates the food preparation process.

The updated Atrium Dining Room provides full-wait service selections, prepared in the updated display kitchen, along with courtyard views though a towering glass wall.  A new, intimate scale formal dining room features a distinctive wine wall element that is visible from the corridor. All of the updated dining areas take full advantage of natural light and outdoor connections while highlighting the existing architectural detailing.

Wellness Expansion within the Existing Infrastructure

Wellness center updates included enlarging the pool to accommodate lap swimming and aquatic classes, adding a new aerobics/dance studio, and new massage and manicure/pedicure rooms as part of a relocated and expanded salon. A major challenge was lengthening the existing pool to better serve aerobic and lap exercising needs without an addition to the building.  The solution involved working with residents and staff members to find suitable alternate locations for an existing art studio and clubroom to free up the needed expansion space. Fortunately, the existing structural framing allowed for a straightforward, but unique expansion with acoustic ‘airfoil’ baffles that add aesthetic appeal as well as functional value.

Award:  Environments for Aging (EFA) Remodel-Renovation Competition Gold Winner

“Not only were the aesthetics greatly enhanced, this team fundamentally improved the important functions of these wonderful spaces.  This remodel added interactive and highly mobile spaces versus just remodeling more “sitting areas” which is too common in our profession.  This very attractive remodel draws people into the spaces and celebrates added choice and enhanced lifestyle!”

Juror Comments

Photo Credit:  Nathan Cox Photography

Meadowood

Worcester, PA

Community center updates on the entry floor focused on dining updates to increase capacity while simultaneously breaking down the scale and creating distinctive, differentiated experiences. This included introduction of bistro, pop up dining and exhibition cooking. On the lower level, the design expands the aerobics classroom, rehabilitation suite and aquatics areas. The new pool accommodates multiple configurations for lap lanes, shallow water exercise, water volleyball and deep water exercise. Outdoor connections and sustainable strategies are seamlessly integrated into the design solutions. The underutilized courtyard was transformed into a new campus amenity to create engaging outdoor event spaces to complement and enhance the dining and wellness updates.

Awards: Publication in Environments for Aging Design Showcase

Photo Credit:  Nathan Cox Photography

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Rose Villa

Portland, OR

New Main Street amenities include a performing arts center, newsroom, bistro café, garden nursery, full service salon, wellness center, pool and spa, all have been designed to look and operate as individually branded businesses. The aquatics component includes a lazy river and water slide, as well as lanes for lap swimming. Fully operable garage doors allow portions of the bistro to provide open air seating along Main Street.

Awards: Publication in Environments for Aging Design Showcase

Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography

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Tel Hai Community

Honey Brook, PA

The casual dining venue includes a display kitchen, fireplace lounge and patio seating for an alfresco option.  In addition to an exercise classroom and fitness equipment room, the wellness center includes warm-water therapy and competition-size pools. The main pool is also used by the Twin Valley Aquatic Club and High School swimming teams. The aquatics center features six lanes equipped with starting blocks, a timing/scoring system and two levels of spectator seating. Tel Hai also offers swimming lessons for all ages.

Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography

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Woodcrest Villa, Viva Centre

Lancaster, PA

Viva, often translated to “long live,” is an apt description for this welcome center focused on vitality and community engagement. Feathered into a hillside between existing apartment wings, this expansion more than doubled the size of the community center. The welcome center at the main entrance features a two-story lobby and pre-gathering area outside the new 300-person performing arts center. The fitness components of the wellness center include an aquatics center with lap pool and warm water therapy spa, a fitness classroom, cardio equipment room and lockers with changing rooms. The upper level includes a bistro, beauty shop, theater, billiards and terrace with dining grill area and bocce courts.
Awards: Publication in Environments for Aging Design Showcase

Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography

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Tel Hai Community, StoneCroft Apartments

Honey Brook, PA

Master planning for a hilltop parcel adjacent to the existing community resulted in the StoneCroft neighborhood of 105 apartments and community center spaces including casual dining with display kitchen, a 450-seat multi-purpose room for cultural performances, worship services, conferences and banquets and a wellness center.  The competition-size pool is also used by the Twin Valley Aquatic Club and High School swimming teams. The pool features six lanes equipped with starting blocks, a timing/scoring system and two levels of spectator seating. Master planning for a hilltop parcel adjacent to the existing community resulted in the StoneCroft neighborhood of 105 apartments and community center spaces including casual dining with display kitchen, a 450-seat multi-purpose room for cultural performances, worship services, conferences and banquets and a wellness center.  The competition-size pool is also used by the Twin Valley Aquatic Club and High School swimming teams. The pool features six lanes equipped with starting blocks, a timing/scoring system and two levels of spectator seating.

Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography

Rose Villa

Portland, OR

Master planning resulted in multi-phased campus updates and replacement housing. Phase 1 encompassed 76 “pocket neighborhood” cottages and loft-style apartments over new town center spaces. Main Street amenities, many of which are open to the surrounding community, include a bistro, coffee shop, garden center, art studio, wellness center and auditorium. New assisted living, replacement healthcare, children’s daycare, and additional pocket neighborhoods are anticipated for later phases.

Addressing the Steep Site with Appealing Pocket Neighborhoods

This senior living community, originally opened in 1960, was known for its lush landscaping and relaxed garden lifestyle. Its existing linear, one-story garden apartments had become dated and the steep 22-acre hillside site was challenging for older adults to navigate.  The gradual replacement of all 263 residences began with the first phase of pocket neighborhoods.

These cottage-style active adult residences are organized around gardens stepping down the hillside.  Each pocket neighborhood is comprised of seven homes overlooking an intimate courtyard.  The result creates smaller, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods  which capitalize on garden connections and outdoor views.  The “over-under” cottages in each pocket neighborhood maximize site utilization while providing compact floor plans that are sized to be affordable, yet maintain open and livable spaces with appealing views in multiple directions.

Connecting with the Surrounding Community Through New Main Street Amenities

The pocket neighborhoods transition up to a new Main Street and Town Center with amenity spaces at street level and loft apartment living on the upper levels.  The loft apartments provide a residential option for consumers who prefer “downtown” living with interior connection to common spaces.  Situated at the highest point of the site overlooking the Willamette River, Main Street provides a unique and appealing first impression of the campus, as well as reinforcing a sense of place within the larger community.

To provide a true downtown ambience, the street level amenities, such as the bistro and garden center, are directly accessible from both the street and internal corridors.  A wine bar is envisioned for the rooftop garden overlooking Main Street and providing views to the river.  With the completion of the first phase of updates, Rose Villa provides an appealing, accessible garden setting, as the community was originally conceived.

Awards: Award of Merit, AIA/LeadingAge Design for Aging Review, | Honorable Mention – Independent Living; Senior Housing News Design Awards | Merit Award in the Environments for Aging Design Showcase

Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography, Steve Wanke Photography

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Cypress Cove

Ft. Meyers, FL

This 50-acre CCRC/Life Plan Community is located on the 400-acre HealthPark Florida campus. Resident groups are clustered around the community center, which features an outdoor courtyard, a main dining room overlooking a lake, wellness center, multi-purpose room and other amenities. Phase I included 212 apartments, 30 villas, 42 assisted living apartments, a 64-bed health center and a community center. Phase II included 105 apartments, a café and additional assisted living.

Awards: Published in the AIA/LeadingAge Design for Aging Review.

Photo Credit: Larry Lefever Photography