5 minutes with Jim Wallis

April 8, 2019 // Insights, Senior Living

[Question] You and Eileen Nacht will be presenting on the Laurel Lake Senior Living Community at the Environments for Aging conference. What can attendees hope to learn from your presentation?

[Jim] Our presentation is focused on a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) we completed for the Laurel Lake Retirement Community Center for Healthy Living project that the community has implemented. The results of the POE show us how successfully the design has transformed the residential community to support a whole-person wellness philosophy engaging the mind, body and spirit. We’ll define what a POE is, break down the metrics we established, and identify the criteria for measuring and examining the design outcomes. Finally, we plan to share insights gained from the results of the POE and applications to future re-positioning design projects.

We’ll also illustrate the concept of centers for healthy living as active lifestyle communities and their benefits to the aging population. Evolving research shows wellness focused activities are KEY to aging people keeping their health, their mental skills and their quality of life. We’ll explore the role of environmental design in promoting the seven dimensions of wellness.

[Q] What trends in senior living design do you anticipate taking off?
[J] Centers for healthy living are definitely a trend for the new senior population and the next generation of older adults that are more active and health conscious. A center for healthy living is an approach to wellness design based on the concept of engaging residents with enhanced person-centered care. The design integrates programs and amenities that support the seven dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual.

[Q] You just achieved your Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification. How will this certification affect the design of your projects?
[J] Evidence-based design is really about the design process and implementing design concepts that achieve the best possible outcomes. I look to inspire our project designs and Perspectus with a design culture that is person-centered and more focused on the desired outcomes for healthcare and senior living projects.

[Q] If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be?
[J] If you have a passion and enjoy what you do for a living, then you will never work a day in your life!

[Q] You can only bring two things to a deserted island. What do you bring? Oh, and you can’t bring a boat.
[J] Alcohol and a Satellite Phone.

Are you attending the 2019 EFA conference? Add Designing for Mind, Body, and Spirit: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation to your attendee calendar!

Presenters: Jim Wallis, AIA and Eileen Nacht, AIA
Time: Tuesday, April 09, 2019 | 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.