Senior Living Design Trends - Visions for the Future

As a field, senior living has tended to be cautious in jumping aboard larger societal trends. At times, it has felt to me like the field has focused more on limitations—i.e., what we think we can’t do—than on possibilities for what we can do. While limitations certainly exist, so do infinite possibilities. In today’s increasingly complex business environment for senior living, the ability to embrace change and evolve has become imperative. Here are the macro design trends that we at SFCS see becoming more prevalent, and on which we believe the senior living field should be focused.

Highly Curated Common Spaces

Community common spaces that emphasize function, and that are well-defined and well designed, are a growing trend. It is important to establish a theme and concept for each space, and then to carry the theme and concept all the way through, from the name of the space to its design, so that every aspect of the space lives up to the intent for what happens there and the value it brings to the community.

This trend applies not just to the primary common spaces, like dining venues and lobbies, but also those in-between spaces that every community has, like corridors and pass-throughs. Such spaces can be reimagined as galleries or gathering spaces. Defining spaces gives them life.

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