Grand Rapids, MI
Perkins Eastman

Site location: suburban
Site area: 10.5 acres
Site capacity: 51 units
Total project cost: $16.1 million

Architect’s Statement
In designing this religious senior residence, we were guided by three goals: to balance the Sisters’ sacred needs with those of secular residents (they plan to market the facility to the public); produce a fresh concept for senior living; and incorporate green building practices.

o A centrally located chapel celebrates the Sisters’ mission and vision. To attract future developers, the Sisters can sell the assisted living wing floor-by-floor or in its entirety, and we designed the alcove studio for easy conversion to one-bedroom kitchenette apartments.

o Innovative design elements include clean, volumetric forms; simple architectural materials; a unique building layout; and a deconstructed typical double-loaded corridor.

o The building embodies green principles in its design, with a goal to achieve a LEED® NC-Silver rating; in minimal site disturbance; and in natural progressive water management.

Owner’s Statement
The new residence allows these senior Sisters to age gracefully in a serene environment that meets today’s health care quality standards and nurtures the whole person. We chose to emphasize a social rather than a clinical model of living and requested that the structure be simple but elegant, functional, and cost-effective. We emphasized natural light, connection with nature and the outdoors; space for prayer, study, recreation, hobbies, and therapy; and quality health care. The architects listened well and captured it all—no easy task.

Major Design Objectives and Responses

Respect and promote the order’s mission and vision by creating a sense of place.
The centrally located chapel is the heart of the campus and a symbol of the order’s faith. Simple, ageless architecture supports the Sisters’ way of life.

Ensure the facility’s future marketability to the secular public
We designed the alcove studios for easy conversion to one-bedroom units via removal of walls between adjacent units and conversion of closets in assisted living units to kitchenettes. We wired the apartments for cable television, high-speed Internet access, and future technologies. We divided the central core into public space for the non-religious and private space for the Sisters. The Sisters can sell the assisted living wing floor-by-floor or in its entirety. The following amenities address the Sisters’ current needs and are attractive to future secular residents: a chapel and meditative areas; a computer lab, library, and educational areas; a spa, fitness center with pool and therapy areas; and congregational, administrative, and marketing offices. The outdoor courtyards can function as both private enclaves for the Sisters and areas for public interaction.

Produce a fresh senior living design
Our site positioning offers views from all resident rooms; a visual link to the outdoors, which creates a “building without walls’; and a view of the corridors that includes sacred landmarks to assist residents with wayfinding.

The unique building layout features improved circulation for mobility devices and passing zones, units arranged in pairs, decentralized service and activity areas inserted between paired units, and skewing of units to provide increased views. A lower-level tunnel allows goods and services to be delivered without interrupting public and resident spaces. The design of small households increases the staff-to-resident ratio.

Use green building practices whenever possible
The design team chose construction practices that produced limited earthwork disturbance and minimal destruction of forestry. A progressive water management system will create natural meadows and prairies instead of a manicured lawn, and we used native plantings and flowers. Our goal is for the building design to achieve a LEED® NC-Silver rating.

Specific Project Challenges and Responses

Depart from the traditional senior living style to address the simplicity of the Sisters’ lifestyle
The design team used clean, volumetric forms; simple architectural materials (brick, glass, and corrugated metal siding); and streamlined interior furnishings and finishes, complemented by antiques.

Create an environment that honors the Sisters’ identity yet appeals to the secular public
Our design infuses flexibility and adaptability into every space, creates divisible common zones and resident room areas, and achieves a physical connection to the Mother House through an enclosed tunnel.

Operational Assumptions and Responses

Operational efficiencies
Our design supports a low staff-to-resident ratio, decentralizes the support spaces,
enables staff and residents to circulate efficiently in the interior, and allows for inconspicuous distribution and disposal of goods and services in each area. In addition, grouping residents who require similar levels of care into neighborhood clusters accommodates their needs more effectively than the previously scattered arrangement. In terms of access and control, the designs feature a single, controlled entrance point for all visitors, as well as secure entrances for the Sisters.

Goals of the Client and Design Team Solutions
Provide the Sisters with a higher level of care than was previously available to them
The chapel is accessible to the wheelchair-bound from both the main level and a second-level balcony. When chapel attendance is not feasible, closed circuit television brings the liturgy to the resident room. The building features improved wheelchair access in residential units and corridors; in-room bathing facilities; larger square footage within rooms, which allows storage for mobility devices and medical equipment; and minimal travel distance between rooms and amenities.

Special or unusual feature
The courtyards are thoughtfully designed. We provided outdoor spaces for contemplation that vary between semi-public, semi-private, and private and that allow the Sisters to engage the public without disturbing interior operations. The design of the landscape afforded each courtyard its own identity. The facility captures east-west light in all courtyards for optimum daylight.

Jury’s Comments
Overall, this project design and client team took a risk in seeking to break the mold of a stereotypical assisted living facility. The project reinforces the current needs of the Sisters living in the facility, includes the needs of future generations, and allows flexibility for changing care modalities. The clean, sophisticated, and simple lines not only reflect this religious order’s style of living, but provide a refreshingly new architectural vocabulary that supports the care model, acting as a model for elevating the senior living industry. The design is flexible to future planning, and the project uses LEED® NC-Silver criteria to achieve a sustainable solution. Further, in dissolving traditional preconceptions of what senior living has been, this project achieves simplicity and grace. The fresh aesthetic features well-executed simple lines, natural wood, daylight, and transparency of space.

Status of the project: Completed July 2005
Owner: Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters
Architect: Perkins Eastman
Interior designer: Perkins Eastman
Landscape architect: Wolff Clements & Associates, Ltd.
Structural engineer: Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer & Associates Inc.
Mechanical engineer: OWP/P
Electrical engineer: OWP/P
Civil engineer: Moore & Bruggink Inc.
Contractor: Erhardt Construction

Construction Costs
The following information is based on actual costs
Final construction costs as of June 2005
Building costs
Total building costs $13,556,000
Site costs
Total site costs $ 944,000
Total project costs $16.1 million

Assisted Living Facilities
One bedroom units 51 384 GSF GSF
Total (all units) 19,590 GSF GSF
Residents' social areas (lounges, dining & recreation spaces) 11,358 GSF
Medical, healthcare, therapies, and activities spaces 5,726 GSF
Administrative, public and ancillary support services 3,738 GSF
Service, maintenance, and mechanical areas 12,327 GSF
Total gross area 80,190 GSF
Total net usable area (per space program) 52,739 NSF
Overall gross/net factor (ratio of gross area/net useable area ) 1.5