What is the history and future of senior living design
By Scott McCorvie, CEO, Enhance Senior Living
Enhance Senior Living is a national senior living broker firm specializing in nationwide senior living investment brokerage solutions including active adult brokerage, independent living brokerage, assisted living brokerage, memory care brokerage, and skilled nursing brokerage. Learn more about our senior living broker and operational improvement solutions and contact us today to learn how we can help you enhance senior living today.
To enhance your senior living knowledge subscribe to the Enhance Senior Living Podcast. The show is on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
Senior Living Design: History and Emerging Trends
Throughout my career, I’ve toured hundreds of seniors housing communities across the United States. I can usually estimate the year a property was built from the exterior drive. Senior Living Design is a young industry, yet it shows clear progression. Some design traits have defined each period and evolved over time. In this article, I’ll examine the history of seniors housing design. It informs current decisions.
Additionally, the industry continues to evolve with aging demographics and regulatory changes. Designers now prioritize safety, accessibility, and comfort without sacrificing aesthetics. Trends include flexible layouts, resilient materials, and wellness oriented spaces. These shifts influence how projects are planned, funded, and evaluated over time.
Senior Living Design emerged in the 1990s. Today, many people equate seniors housing with traditional skilled nursing facilities or nursing homes. These spaces often feature long corridors and semi-private units on either side.
Early seniors housing design resembled skilled nursing facilities. Communities built from the 1970s to the late 1980s had long hallways and limited common space. Units were primarily semi-private or studio in size. Design developments began to change as the market evolved.
As the assisted living product gained recognition, development surged toward the late 1990s. Most communities share a similar layout, similar to Brookdale or Holiday. They added amenities like libraries and activity rooms, plus more unit options, though studios remained common.
Early technology included pull cords in resident bedrooms and bathrooms. As technology advanced, devices improved safety and autonomy. Sensors monitor movement to prevent falls. Voice-activated controls support accessible living. Integrated design reduces confusion and enhances safety. Automation supports routine tasks.
The 2000’s refined the industry as it began to expand and become more sophisticated. Dedicated and secured memory care became a new product type, and additional amenities like movie theaters, fitness centers, larger lobbies and resident lounges began to emerge. The resident units also became larger with a greater selection of one-bedroom and two-bedroom unit types (with less studio units). The design still typically consisted of one-to-three story buildings with longer hallways on either side of a central dining room, but more resident lounges and courtyards emerged to add additional interactive space for the residents. New technology like building wi-fi and resident pendant call systems became standard.
So, what are the current trends in seniors housing? The main concept in today’s seniors housing design is to get residents out of their units. They become engaged within the community. However, designs increasingly move away from scattered amenity rooms that are rarely used beyond tours. They favor a large central space that serves many activities throughout the day.
Instead of scattered amenity rooms throughout the community, which are rarely used beyond tours, trends favor a large central space. This space can be converted throughout the day for yoga, dance classes, cooking, or movies.
Longer hallways are being replaced with connected square designs. This change fosters socialization and reduces isolation.
Libraries are being replaced with digital libraries that can be accessed through provided smart devices.
Bistros and casual cafes are being added to the community to provide more dining options. They also create more social interaction space for residents and families.
And, the future is limitless and exciting for the industry. The focus will be on lifestyle,’ so that residents want to move into a community for an upgraded quality of life. Technology will continue to be a main driver, which will include smart locks, digital records, new call systems, and interactive smart devices – all with the ability to be remotely accessed by the families. Virtual Reality is being introduced in memory care to help maintain and improve cognitive function. Also, modular design may help reduce the construction costs to cater towards a more affordable product. Overall, the industry has come a long way in a short time, and with constant innovation and improvement, the industry will continue to make a positive impact on the quality of life of residents and families well into the future.
Enhance Senior Living is a national senior living broker firm specializing in nationwide senior living investment brokerage solutions including active adult brokerage, independent living brokerage, assisted living brokerage, memory care brokerage, and skilled nursing brokerage. Learn more about our senior living broker and operational improvement solutions and contact us today to learn how we can help you enhance senior living today.
To enhance your senior living knowledge subscribe to the Enhance Senior Living Podcast. The show is on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
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