Today, approximately one in every six Americans is age 65 or older, and by 2050, the same will be true of the global population. As people live longer, the need for more quality housing and healthy living environments is surging worldwide.
At HKS, we are committed to contributing to the solution and designing more options for places where people can live comfortably and thrive during later phases of life. Our design teams have a mission to ignite vitality, inspire connection and celebrate the joy of living in every community we design and with every client relationship we build.
Our integrated approach to crafting high quality environments that support longevity — from high rise urban communities to affordable residences— unites expertise in architecture and interior design. HKS designers, researchers and strategists collaborate to support our clients’ business goals, understanding that every community has a unique location, climate and population.
Here, our Senior Living practice leaders share more about changes in the industry and what it takes to create places where people can thrive at any age:
Siobhan Farvardin, Global Practice Director, Senior Living
“As more people age and we rise to the challenge of building enough housing for those living longer, a lot more variety is going to be in demand — variety of types of housing units, as well as offerings within a community. Choices for dining, wellness and socialization will increase. Before the pandemic, there was a trend toward downsizing, but now, we’re working with clients who are experiencing a demand for larger units that can accommodate family members or provide other comforts that smaller units cannot provide. We are also crafting places with flexible layouts and plans to support aging in place. We’re adapting to these shifts, working with clients to incorporate brain-healthy design strategies and elements of holistic wellness that support emotional balance, staff retention, physical and mental health, and social connectedness.
I’m excited that more partnerships are emerging throughout the senior living industry. Historically, developers would construct a building then bring a senior living operator in later. Now, we’re seeing operators being brought to the table early as well as projects with a new mix of uses, both of which are great for community building. This is an industry where we design architecture and interiors in parallel paths, so it’s beneficial to work with all partners from the get-go to ensure we are making thoughtful design decisions for the end users. We recently partnered with a long-time HKS developer client in California on a project with a mix of affordable housing and senior housing with shared communal space. We’ve supported them through entitlements and zoning and are thrilled to be designing a place that will become an anchor for multiple generations of community members, and perhaps a model for future projects.”
Jen McDermott, Global Practice Director, Senior Living Interiors
“We’re always thinking about the next generations, what their expectations are now and what they may be in the future. Right now, we’re finding that a focus on lifestyle is big, and we really try and focus on the local environment and demographics in our work. On the West Coast, we’ve designed co-working environments in senior communities, and in several locations, we’ve created flexible fitness rooms with integrated technology, and “first impression” spaces that can serve as bars, social gathering areas or space for committee meetings depending on community members’ needs. No matter what, we always start each project with a story, and by researching where we are designing and who we are designing for. We try to immerse ourselves in the lifestyles of those residents and understand what resonates with them.
Affordability is something we’re continuing to figure out as an industry, and we know that middle market options are still missing in many places. Flexibility and adaptability within senior living communities will become extremely important as populations change, which also presents us with some design challenges. The HKS team is poised to work with clients to understand how we can navigate financial and design hurdles together. We’re collaborating with different design practices including mixed-use and hospitality, and we’re working with our research and advisory teams to create new evidence-based approaches for designing adaptive, supportive environments.”
Travis Cowie, Studio Practice Leader, Senior Living
“One major challenge facing the senior living industry is aging infrastructure. There’s a large inventory of senior housing that is becoming outdated in terms of value to the market. Expectations are changing and buildings designed 40+ years ago don’t give people what they need and want today. As architects and designers, we are helping by designing newer, better environments, but we can do so much more. At HKS, we are actively helping clients navigate financing challenges, including with a recent East Coast project where we introduced a financier to a senior living client to help make projects more feasible and affordable. We’re leveraging our relationships to benefit clients and residents, and having a profound impact on how successful a project can be long term.
We also use our experience to make projects more efficient by being thoughtful about our materials, processes and designs. We work with clients who, like us, are interested in sustainability and we strive to make our projects more energy efficient, healthier and adaptable for residents. One way we know we can be successful as designers is by championing models for aging in place. Aging in place, to me, is the gold standard of senior living. By designing residences that support a person over the course of their later life stages — nicely apportioned apartments with all the benefits of senior living community amenities — we can help people lead happier, healthier lives, and we can support our clients’ businesses as well.”
Hillary DeGroff, Studio Practice Leader, Senior Living Interiors
“We’re on the precipice of a revolution in the industry because the demand is increasing so drastically. Folks are now entering independent living well into their 80s, and as a result, active adult communities are bridging the gap between retirement age and later life ages. I think levels of care are going to be broken down and there are going to be blurred boundaries between what we’ve traditionally known as independent and assisted living. We’re already starting to see different models emerge and that trend is only going to continue to grow. We are helping clients figure out how their spaces can support flexibility and consider what proactive operational changes they can make to ensure we can contribute the best designs possible for residents.
More and more, senior living organizations are recognizing the benefit of taking care of staff. When the staff experience is prioritized, retention rates are higher and there is also a positive return in how residents are cared for. A lot of that is coming into play where communities are more open to enabling social connections between staff and residents and providing shared amenities, childcare and dining experiences. Care team members have challenging jobs and having well-designed break rooms and retreat space also goes a long way for their ability to feel supported at work. We are bringing together diverse HKS teams to provide the best possible environments for residents, care providers and families, and I’m excited about how we are positioning ourselves to be trailblazers in the design and senior living industries.”