Description
The Tradition of the Palm Beaches developed a new approach for senior living facilities by expanding an existing long-term care campus into a full care continuum that offers a non-traditional flexible financial model with “pay as you go” options for services and housing.
The client’s focus on the project was to incorporate specific themes like ageing-in-place, cognitive impairment, community-based programming and methods of service delivery into a care model that would meet the prospective residents’ – the population of 85 plus – expectations without an overly institutional or clinical atmosphere. The geriatric services centre offers training, assessment, home health and outpatient services for at-home seniors, with approx. 2,800 m² dedicated to a new network of services benefitting a broader community than just those residing on the campus.
The programmatic solution enhances a campus set on 11 ha, linking a 102-unit independent residential wing to a 42-unit assisted living wing that provides more comprehensive services and shelter for frail residents. While each wing has its own identity, all units incorporate universal design principles. Careful zoning of the site and building allows several communities to coexist amid flexible services.
The overall design concept resulted in a contemporary version of gracious “grand hotel” living in the southern Floridian tradition: stucco arches, terracotta tiled verandas and intimate courtyards give way to interiors that express genteel hospitality and comfortable residential living reminiscent of The Cloister and The Breakers – palatial hotels constructed at the turn of the 20th century during Florida’s own Gilded Age. A formal dining room overlooking one of the three man-made lakes is linked to a wellness and activity area, and other recreational amenities.
The Tradition of the Palm Beaches achieved 100% occupancy in 90 days, triggering additional campus expansion. This can be seen as an indication for the success of a model that responds to consumers with flexibility, choice and a gracious style of traditional southern living. The project was mentioned as a Notable Project in the 2006 American Institute of Architects Design for Aging Award and in the same year won a Best of Seniors Housing Award from the National Association of Home Builders 50+ Housing Council as a Continuing Care Retirement Community – Overall Community of a small and midsize category.
Drawings
Photos
Exterior view at night
Luxurious hallway
Originally published in: Eckhard Feddersen, Insa Lüdtke, Living for the Elderly: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2011.