Environments for Aging - Summer 2021 - 64

THE SPARK
Cultural
influencer
HKS' Gabriela Espinosa
uses her design work to
help change some traditional
views of senior living
M
y passion
for architecture
and
design began
at age 12 when my
parents decided to
remodel our house
in Mexico. My mom
noticed my interest
in selecting the materials
and understanding how the floor plans
worked and allowed me to sit in on meetings
with the architect. In what was one of my first
design decisions, I persuaded my parents to
make my room and closet a little larger while
making my brother's bedroom smaller.
Seeing my ideas become a reality helped
me realize my calling and led me to attend the
University of Houston College of Architecture
and Design. After graduating in 2015, I spent
a year volunteering in Mexico with local charity
Hogar de los Ancianos, which is operated by
nuns and takes in homeless seniors or seniors
from impoverished families. My work included
helping in the kitchen, escorting residents
on walks, sitting and listening to residents'
stories, participating in dance parties, and
more. The experience changed my life.
The culture of Mexico traditionally considers
it a family's responsibility and a sign of respect
to care for elders at home instead of sending
them away, which is considered disrespectful.
But during my volunteering, I saw the love and
kindness that the nuns put into their work-
and I also saw how much families still cared
about their loved ones during their visits to
the community. I thought of my own grandparents
and realized then that having a loved
one move into senior living doesn't mean their
family members had given up on them but the
contrary. It showed they were humble enough
64 EFAmagazine.com * Summer 2021
to understand they couldn't provide the care
needed and instead found a place that gives
the love and comfort deserved. I began to
understand that by creating amazing spaces, I
could influence the way different cultures view
senior living in places where such communities
are often not appreciated.
As I completed my volunteering, I began
planning my career. At the time, I didn't know
senior living was a specific sector of architecture;
I just knew I needed a job. I found an
opening at a small firm in Dallas that, to my
joyous surprise, specialized in senior living
design. I interviewed a few days later and was
hired by D2 Architecture, which is now a part
of the HKS family.
Thanks to many colleagues and supporters,
I've learned so much during the past five years.
Working on different sizes of projects and care
types has taught me that no matter how affordable
or expensive the community, designing for
seniors and their caregivers is always the priority.
I've also become increasingly passionate
about what senior living is and can become.
Whenever I go back to Mexico, I can't
stop talking about the firm's senior living
projects to my friends and family. And when
they come to Dallas to visit, I purposely drive
through some of our projects (Ventana by
Buckner, Legacy at Midtown Park, CC Young)
to give them a more positive perspective
about what senior living can be. I'm proud to
say that I've changed a few minds-including
my parents, who now say that they want
to live in a senior living community when the
time comes. EFA
LINA LARK
http://www.EFAmagazine.com
Environments for Aging - Summer 2021

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