Above: New independent living apartment layouts are open and airy. Surface-mounted LED lights give the look of recessed lighting for ceilings with no clearance above. Below: Narrow corridors with poor lighting (before) were transformed using low walls and translucent panels suspended between columns, which better connect the hallways to the common spaces. Decorative lighting adds interest and raises light levels without creating glare. ductwork throughout the building while trying to maintain ceiling heights required some creativity and coordination. The designers worked closely with the engineers to keep duct sizes as small as possible and locate the required HVAC dropped soffits in perimeter areas, so ceiling heights in the middle of rooms could remain high. Another strategy was to split the large supply and return pipes on different floors to help save ceiling space. The location of the independent living units on the upper floors and assisted living units below also provided a logistical challenge with stacking plumbing while also routing ventilation and exhaust ductwork, required for assisted living, through the upper floors. During construction, the design team discovered that the ductwork for the upper floor units wouldn't fit perpendicularly through the floor joists as originally planned, and a new design direction had to be developed on the fly. By locating larger duct runs underneath the joists and lowering the ceiling over the toilet rooms and closet areas, multiple smaller duct runs were able to be routed to the exterior wall, fitting between joists, ALISE O'BRIEN PHOTOGRAPHY (AFTER IMAGES) Before 36 EFAmagazine.com * Fall 2018http://www.EFAmagazine.com