Bringing residents home.

While meeting the special needs of Alzheimer's residents, these facilities are homes, inside and out

Designing an Alzheimer's facility that meets resident needs and blends with the community and its surroundings is always a challenge. Our firm, Rees Associates, Inc., designed two facilities to create a comfortable home environment, both inside and out, for residents afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.

Desert Hacienda, located in Tucson, Arizona and The Gardens of Canterbury, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, share the same floor plan, but possess uniquely different architectural styles. The buildings' exteriors were designed to harmonize with their residential surroundings, just as the interiors were designed to accommodate the residents' special needs.

Using a compact plan, each home was moduled into three 18-bed units of 6,914 square feet each; the bedrooms of each unit connect directly to centralized and shared spaces. This arrangement encourages residents to remain as independent as possible and to perform activities of daily living to the best of their abilities.

We worked closely with the owners, Fountains Affiliates to create designs that were readily adaptable to differing communities; each building design exterior had to be adjusted to its particular location. But the design considerations went further.

More typical of a single-family residence, the scale of the buildings is similar to those in which most of the residents lived nearly all of their lives. Moreover, the three multi-unit residences of each facility were arranged to create a pleasant pedestrian garden courtyard (designed to accommodate 50 residents) to be shared by the residents. The siting of the houses encourages the use of the courtyard and gardens, which are designed to mature into a pleasant extension of each home over time, providing a relaxing and comforting area for social activity. Orientation and design of the houses also allows natural light into all rooms at some time during the day.

Oklahoma City's Gardens of Canterbury, built mostly of brick, possesses elements common to homes in its area, including hipped rooflines, front and back porches, walled courtyards and residential windows. The windows are numerous and sized to create views to the outside and provide abundant natural light. The broad overhangs and porches address the solar gain associated with the sunny climate. What might seem small and insignificant details to most, such as shutters on the exterior windows, are touches intended to make residents feel more comfortable and familiar with their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Tucson's Desert Hacienda possesses a resort quality, with its stucco exteriors accented with adobe. Combined with low walls, landscaped courtyards and special lighting, residents here find their own conception of "home." Also, the joining of pitched and flat roofs, shady porches and awnings allows this facility to blend in with the surrounding community.

Interiors of both facilities are not grand spaces, but are appropriately sized and made comfortable with familiar regional elements. In both Tucson and Oklahoma City, the homes include sunrooms, kitchens with breakfast bars and extensive windows. Trims lean toward the traditional crown moldings and paneled walls. The Tucson homes were completed, however, with simpler forms, using sloped wood ceilings. Less accent trim and an abundant application of tile also allows the homes of Desert Hacienda to complement their surroundings.

Finishes for walls, flooring and furniture upholstery do not shy away from pattern or color in either facility. Although furniture for both residences is reflective of community standards, selections were intended to be elegant and stylish, but not distracting to residents. Individual bedrooms and alcove entrances encourage personalization, allowing residents to add individual touches to their homes with articles they bring with them. Adding to the character of the homes are shadow boxes at the front door of each bedroom that function as identifiers.

Staff areas also suggest a homelike atmosphere rather than an institutional feel. Offices are furnished with wooden desks instead of laminated workstations. Lockable storage consists of finished cabinetry rather than millwork, and the kitchen, laundry and staff entry areas are visible when desired, but can be hidden with pocket doors and shutters.

Placed at the heart of each house is the kitchen. Its visibility to the dining area adds to the homelike setting. Access is provided at the rear of the kitchen for meals arriving from the primary kitchen in the main building, although these meals can be warmed and prepared in the home itself.

Desert Hacienda and The Gardens at Canterbury were designed to add both an element of style and of familiarity, both for the residents and for the communities that surround them. They are communities that give the impression of a home environment, but are very purposefully designed to meet the exacting and personal needs of their residents.

William D. Howell, AIA, is director of design and Karen J. Foster is marketing coordinator for Rees Associates, inc., an architectural planning and interiors firm based in Oklahoma City. For further information, call [phone] or fax [phone].