Jami MohlenkampPrincipal and senior living practice leader, OZ Architecture The newest accommodations at the Senior Star at Weber Place retirement community near Chicago were built for a couple named Snowflake and Licorice, and come with excellent open-air views of the outdoors, hand-fed meals and plenty of opportunities to socialize. Snowflake and Licorice have made fast…

Dave RahmProject director, Brinkmann Constructors When we started building the 84-acre Wind Crest retirement community in Highlands Ranch in 2012, there were no hints of the grand treasure that would be found underground – seven years after the ambitious project’s start. By this summer, we had completed construction of a 127,000-square foot continuing care center,…

Jean Sebben, ASID, LEED AP ID+C, AIA APPrincipal, Jean Sebben Associates LLC Health care is the constant interface of a caregiver and patient, for the engagement of detailed and sometimes stressful communication within the virtual or built environment. Health care is heavily dependent on transforming patient data in order to streamline processes and improve care.…

Amy Dvorak, Associate AIACommunications manager, Treanor HL Hospitals are complex. Renovating hospitals is even more complex. Take into consideration existing medical systems, heat loads and major utility shutoffs – not to mention the utmost priority that is patient care – in a dust-free, soundfree environment that seamlessly continues uninterrupted patient care. To do it well…

Kasia Bulkowski, AIA, NCARB, WELL APArchitect, MOA Architecture Recently, The Denver Hospice broke ground on the new Amy Davis Hospice Support Center, a two-story addition to The Denver Hospice’s inpatient care center in Lowry. The Denver Hospice is the region’s largest nonprofit provider of life enhancing hospice and palliative care. MOA Architecture is designing the…

When thinking about designing for education, architects and interior designers often reflect on the needs of students from K-12 to higher education. We think about what learning spaces look like for young children to young adults, including where they sit, how they interact with teachers and how they work with and learn from each other. We might envision an elementary school classroom or a college student union or residence hall. 

It wasn’t long ago that we either grew our own food or knew the farmer who grew it. However, in recent decades, small local farms have been virtually wiped out by an industrial and corporate controlled food system that has destroyed our natural resources, depleted our soils, sprayed toxic chemicals and has genetically modified our food in an effort to feed the masses.

Health care mergers and acquisitions are well beyond a common discussion. While the long-term economic and patient-care impact is unveiling at a slow, complicated trickle, the influence on real estate owners is nothing short of immediate and profound.

In 2018 there were 754,000 residents aged 65 and older in Colorado, who comprised 13.4% of the total population. This is below the national average of 15.3%. The baby boomer generation includes all people born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers are now between 55 and 73 years of age. A decade from now, when all the boomers will be 65 and older, they will comprise over 18% of the total population.

As designers and architects of older adult residences, one of our primary goals is to create spaces that support integration and community. Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to bringing different groups and generations together.