Environments for Aging - Winter 2021 - 26

Grant Warner
SENIOR DESIGNER, HKS (DALLAS)
O
VER HIS 25YEAR career, Grant Warner
has been devoted to understanding
the residents impacted by his work. So
much so that he's participated in several Sleepover
Projects, a research program run by HKS whereby
designers spend a 24-hour period in a senior living
community to understand the ins and outs of resident
life. Some recent experiences include stays in
memory care communities with immersive indoor
streetscapes: he had designed similar environments
before but was skeptical of their benefit. Seeing
firsthand how they help stimulate residents and
provide opportunities to engage with family members
and caregivers by providing destination spaces
for gathering, he came back to the offi ce inspired
to further improve the concept. His work since has
focused on developing new features such as life skill
stations, shop windows, and discovery gardens-elements
he recently incorporated on several new
projects. Additionally, Warner has explored how to
answer the need for more aff ordable senior housing
options, collaborating with organizations to provide
solutions ranging from studio apartments to prefabricated
tiny homes, as well as advocating for more
resilient building design in senior living to address
the impacts of climate change.
Environments for Aging: How did you get involved
in the Sleepover Project?
Working for Wesley Life in Johnston, Iowa, our team
had been looking for ways to get more detail on elements
such as the dining program, access to daylight
and outdoor spaces, and the layout to improve
the comfort and effi ciency of four project designs
for that client. In 2005, a colleague and I went together
to stay at the operator's Maplecrest at Wesley
Village in Indianola, Iowa, to conduct research and
observe residents and their care partners. It was
a profound experience for me because I saw the
loneliness and isolation of the seniors. I had hoped
to walk away with measurements and details, but
instead I walked away with a cause. Since then, the
Sleepover Project has become more than just an
evidence-based design process; it's an inspiration.
How has the experience changed your mind about
memory care design?
I'd been concerned that environments like [immersive
streetscapes] were too fake, perhaps even condescending.
But I couldn't have been more wrong.
After staying in one at Market Street in Viera, Fla.,
in 2017, I saw how stimulating those types of
settings could be for residents, care partners, and
family members. For example, I visited a bakery
where the chef was leading a class on making apple
pie that fi lled the environment with a wonderful
smell and stimulated one resident's memory of her
mother making apple strudel.
Another passion for you is aff ordability. How can the
industry do bett er?
Designers will have to be open to new ideas and
other typologies and encourage strategic partnerships
between clients and organizations that may
not seem to be compatible, such as hotels and senior
living sharing amenities and support services.
Innovations in construction such as modular
construction and prefabrication can also support
these eff orts.
Watercrest Sarasota
26 | winter 2021
You've also identi fi ed resilient building design as a
need the industry should address. Why?
Violent natural disasters and human-made disasters
are on the rise, and we must embrace the
challenge and confront it. Resilient building design
can help to not only protect residents during
an event but also ensure that their community can
function as shelter in the horrendous aftermath
of an event.
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