Happy New Year!

It's time for a new year, a new semester, and a new perspective on design.  

     I'm currently preparing for teaching the Sophomore level Residential Design course. 

Typically in this course I focus on Universal Design, Historical Preservation, Client Interviews, HOA restrictions, and Design Presentation.  I have a particularly gifted group this year (I had them for Design Psychology last year) and I've been thinking I should introduce some lighting basics and get them moving towards dynamic visual presentations.  Our field historically has been very "presentation board" heavy, but with current technology many clients no longer need to be local to their designers, which is changing the way we communicate with our clients and contractors.  Being able to get ideas in front of clients and allow the presentation to speak for you is critical in today's market.

This winter and spring, I’ll be working with three Continuous Care Living Communities (CCLCs- Independent Living through Assisted Living to Rehabilitation and finally Hospice Care- the complete embodiment of Aging-in-place).  The closest of the three is a two hour drive; one is in another state.  I am working on a variety of spaces for these communities: a chapel, four bathing suites, and marketing and builder’s packages for an expansion of several hundred Independent living townhomes.  All requiring long distance presentation of concept and ideas as the primary method of communication.

     Each of these projects pose their own challenges, but I find the combination of designing for the aging population- creating ideal residential spaces under the strict parameters of commercial building code restrictions while simultaneously maintaining the best interests of the Community ownership- my client- to be most interesting and thought-provoking.  Frankly, it requires a well-rounded designer to be able to anticipate the needs of these varied populations.  It’s not about throwing the newest, biggest, most expensive product at a design problem.  It’s about recognizing the nuances of the owner, the needs of the people who care for this population, and anticipating the end user’s abilities- and the fact that those abilities will change, sometimes rapidly, as they enter their final years.

     I love what I do.