Design for Aging

On March 13, the AIANY Design for Aging Committee was pleased to host Jamar Adams, Founder & Managing Principal at Essence Development, Jonathan Gouveia, Vice-president of Real Estate Development at NYCHA, Manish Chadha, AIA, Principal at ILA, and Ruchika Modi, Principal at PAU, for an engaging and informative panel focused on NYCHA’s Fulton-Elliot-Chelsea Houses redevelopment, moderated by Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP, Green & Historic Preservation Specialist, President of Brian J. Pape Architect & Consultant PC, and Co-Chair of the AIANY Design for Aging Committee.

NYCHA is the city’s biggest landlord, in all 5 boroughs, for the 400,000 people who call  NYCHA home. Nearly 275,000 families were on the waiting list for a NYCHA apartment this year. Architects and politicians are seeking the expansion of social housing, and prioritizing projects that mass produce substantial, properly sized homes. But funding these endeavors has been very difficult. Finally, the city’s public housing in Chelsea is in the process of a $1.5 Billion plan of revitalization of the Elliott-Chelsea and Fulton House campuses. Panelists discussed the design strategy for NYCHA’s Fulton-Elliot-Chelsea Houses redevelopment, the special considerations that benefit the older population, and how to integrate amenities for a diverse demographic into the urban context, considered the aging population that dominates public housing developments.

Even while the plans are being developed, essence is already adding to the residents’ quality of life by providing private security guards on campus, hiring pest control firms, making entry door fixes, and completing numerous in-unit repairs. Then, a single building will be vacated by moving residents (at developer’s expense) to other vacant campus units. This will allow a new as-of-right building to be constructed, large enough for community facilities on the lower levels, then senior housing units, and other apartments for all who would need to move in from other NYCHA buildings. Once this new facility is settled in, further replacement of other buildings can continue, until 100% of current NYCHA residents are resettled there.

The new NYCHA buildings will differ widely from existing projects. Buildings will be planned for ADA (Americans with Disability Act)- compliant elevators, more than one for each floor so disabled residents aren’t stranded when one fails. There will even be roof terraces on many buildings. The size and quantity of ADA compliant bathrooms will be greatly increased. On a community level, the new campus will have more social services and community activity programming. Buildings will be sited along  the street sidewalks to better connect residents to the surrounding neighborhoods by using ground floor activation with local grocers, clinics, or other services. There will be open space improvements, with programming and cultural displays. Resiliency will be built in to landscaping and utilities.

We know mixed-use buildings and mixed-income neighborhoods produce better health, education, and economic outcomes for residents. That is the goal of this administration and civic-minded New Yorkers, and that is the goal of this Chelsea redevelopment. Nevertheless, it will take a successful completion to convince many that our government is capable of providing caring communities of social housing. 

On April 2, the AIANY Design for Aging and AIANY Women in Architecture Committees were pleased to host Valerie A. Mutterperl, AIA, LEED AP, Principal of Perkins Eastman, Gail Ressler, Owner of Gail Ressler Interior Design, and Susan H. Wright, RA, CPHC, LEED AP, VP for Design and Construction of Selfhelp Realty Group, for a profound and candid conversation focused on the female perspective of designing for an aging population, moderated by Chia-Yi Huang, AIA, LEED AP, member of the AIANY Design for Aging Committee.

Over the years, we’ve found that women designers are growing in numbers. Also, more women are Executive Directors, CEO’s, and CFO’s of senior resident service providers and care communities. In the panel we highlighted the growing voices of these women professionals who are focusing on Design for Aging. Panelists shared stories about the following topics:

• What does their career path look like?
• How or when did they start designing spaces for aging?
• What’s their perspective when they approach a project?
• How do they set up design goals that impact the end-users? 
• What are they the most excited about in their work?
• How did they harness this passion as fuel to their work to create a place for themselves that embraces their skills and sets them apart from the crowd?
• What advice do they have for other professionals?

They also talked about how our industry is doing, and how we can continue to positively impact Design for Aging. Their projects are from very different sectors of this industry, but their stories are all amazing and touching. The experiences and conversations are important for everyone to hear. We missed Darcy Connors, Executive Director of SAGEServes this time, but we’ll surely invite her to share with us in the future!

The Design for Aging Committee March meeting was delighted to have Lisa Cini, award-winning senior living designer, author, and CEO of Infinite Living, to present the renovation of the historic Werner House into a senior-friendly Airbnb that incorporates aging in place design concepts and technologies. Cini created a website to showcase products she recommends at bestlivingtech.com and captured the process of renovating the Airbnb mansion in documentary series titled “Infinite Living Secrets of the Werner House.”

Cini’s presentation sparked a lot of great discussion. We appreciate her sharing with us these wonderful ideas and examples!

As we enter the spring, more Committee events will be happening, including:

• Design for an Aging Population: The Female Perspective, April 2
• Pratt Student Presentation, May 9
• Remembering Herb Oppenheimer

The complete meeting agenda and events in formation for Tafel Hall panels can be accessed here. We look forward to seeing everyone on April 25!

Attendees of the Design for Aging Committee’s January Meeting were delighted to have Jack Carman from Design for Generations discuss his experience as a landscape architect designing memory care spaces. From theories such as Roger Ulrich’s Supportive Design Theory, which argues that window views may influence recovery from surgery, to real-life examples like Central Park in Royal Caribbean Cruises, which presents gardens as quiet places onboard for passengers to “relax”, Jack provided his insights on garden design and great resources for us to continue exploring more design work for the creation of therapeutic outdoor environments. The following potluck and get-together also welcomed committee members to another great new year!

On March 13, 2024, at 6:00pm, the AIANY Design for Aging Committee will host the program NYCHA Redevelopment of Chelsea & Elliot Houses in Manhattan at the Center for Architecture. The presentation will focus on the precise ways that the design team has considered the aging population as the predominant tenants of public housing developments. So don’t miss it!

The DFA December Committee Meeting was delighted to have Brian Bainnson, ASLA, PLA, Principle of Quatrefoil Inc. to present the project he developed, the Portland Memory Garden. Brian is a landscape architect as was his father. He attended RISD and then moved out to Portland, Oregon. The Portland Memory Garden is designed for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory issues. It also provides respite for their caregivers and is open to the entire community. The Garden is fully fenced and enclosed, featuring restrooms, looping paths, wide walkways, lots of seating, tinted concrete to reduce glare, concrete sloping raised garden beds, lighting for nighttime with transition so that shadows don’t cause falls, and good benches with arms so as to see to the next bench throughout the garden. Brian talked about the funding, the master plan, how the site was selected, and how the garden is managed and maintained after it was dedicated in May 2002. He also shared about his knowledge of the coalition operation, the programs and uses, the choose of planting, and the conditions of other memory gardens in the U.S. The presentation and the following Q&A was truly engaging and knowledgable.

This Spring DFA Committee is going co-host many interesting events, such as a panel with WIA Committee, an event with NYCHA, and student presentations with different schools. The complete meeting agenda with an extended list of ideas from previous meetings and events in formation for Tafel Hall panels can be accessed here. Also, we were going to have a member potluck/get together at the January meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone on January 25!