Environments for Aging - Summer 2018 - 21

EFA DESIGN CHAMPION

ANNA LORY
Job captain, Pope Architects, Minneapolis
nna Lory recalls growing up in Platteville, Wis., and
learning of the small town's rich history in mining
and agriculture during visits to the local museum
and attending a beautiful old school replete with marble
and carved woodwork. She also remembers visiting her
great-grandparents in nursing homes there and realizing that
the drab interiors and lack of community didn't mirror the
vibrancy of those institutions to which they'd contributed during their lives. She later went on to earn a degree in architecture, spending much of her career in single- and multifamily
housing before joining Pope Architects four years ago and
shifting her attention primarily to senior living design. Today,
she's inspired by her past as she's involved in coordinating
multiple projects at a time, from schematic design to occupancy. She's credited with having the
most influence during early project stages, when she advocates for clients to move away from
tried-and-true approaches and embrace innovative solutions, specifically household models.
Lory is also known to be armed with files chock-full of examples of best practices and new ideas
that she routinely collects from multiple resources, sharing with colleagues and clients alike to
ensure design is always pushed forward, no matter how tight the schedule. Her files allow team
members to look beyond familiar, go-to approaches and instead pull from a next wave of design
solutions that's always immediately accessible.

EFA: How/why did you become so interested in the household
model, and what's the story behind your idea files?

NATE JOHNSON

Lory: I became interested in the household model after seeing such poor design in nursing
homes where my great-grandparents were living. As I moved into this profession and began working with our clients and seeing the difference the spaces/households we design can make, I was
hooked. I've made it a priority to go through our projects after they're completed to see how they
function and what follow-up comments clients have. I start a file [for each project], accumulating
photos, comments, and lessons learned. Many of these are related to the household model.

White Bear Heights Senior Living, White Bear Lake, Minn.

It's important to listen to the client and what
they want, whether it's size, staffing ratio, meal
delivery, etc., and then help them integrate a
household model that works for them. I can
pull up examples and references to show
them how they can get what they want while
simultaneously using a household model.
I also like to keep precedent examples;
photos; and inspirational ideas from magazines, lunch and learns, and websites. I bring
out these examples as we're working through
spaces to keep our minds open and help
brainstorm new ways of doing things.

Tell us about using your process on a recent project.
White Bear Heights Senior Living in White
Bear Lake, Minn., is one of my favorite projects because I was able to work with the client to fine-tune their operations while creating
a new and innovative memory care kitchen. In
Minnesota, the code requirements for assisted
living memory care kitchens are quite strict,
more so than even skilled care. Therefore, it
was necessary to think creatively about how
to design and detail the kitchen so it feels like
a space that would be found in a single-family
home in the White Bear Lake area.
The memory care kitchen was next to the
commercial kitchen. Due to this adjacency, I
worked with the client and the team to design
and detail the casework and residential equipment to follow their meal delivery strategy but
also feel welcoming and comfortable, and
truly remove the institution from the kitchen.
During meals, this client typically uses bussing
carts for dishes in the dining room. I designed
and detailed a small nook for the cart that's
masked into the cabinetry façade and fits in
seamlessly with the entire kitchen design.
This solution has now become a standard for
their memory care kitchens, eliminating clutter
as well as avoiding the unappealing look of
dirty dishes. It also adds to a residential look.
Additionally, an open table is accessible all the
way around, which allows residents to come
into the kitchen space, rather than feel like
there's a separation between staff space and
resident space, which would be the norm in a
more institutional space.
Summer 2018 * EFAmagazine.com

https://www.efamagazine.com/design-champions http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Summer 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Environments for Aging - Summer 2018