Environments for Aging - Summer 2018 - 9

EDITORIAL

Opportunity knocks
More vendors are embracing senior living, and that's good
news for everyone By Jennifer Kovacs Silvis
I just returned from a trip to Chicago to attend NeoCon. If
you're not familiar, NeoCon is a gigantic trade show for the
commercial design industry where manufacturers showcase
thousands of products (furniture, fabrics, flooring, etc.)
across segments including workplace, retail, hospitality, and
healthcare.
This is generally where companies will debut a new
product-maybe even just a prototype-to begin gathering
feedback and making tweaks before taking it to a specialty
main stage in those individual sectors.
My schedule was booked with back-to-back appointments
to visit showrooms and see some of those new launches in person. Largely, companies
reached out to me regarding a healthcare product line (I'm the editor of sister publication
Healthcare Design, too). But what struck me when I visited with designers, marketers, and
company heads was that often the big topic on their minds wasn't necessarily healthcare but
senior living.
Time and time again our conversations would stray to fabrics or flooring, colors or patterns
that were gaining traction in senior living. Often thanks to product lines already in use in hospitality
and/or multifamily housing, companies were happily finding new opportunity and new interest from
those working in this sector. I asked one person if it was simply a natural transition to make or a
strategic one based on anticipated growth in senior living thanks to the boomers. His answer: "Yes."
This isn't just good news for vendors that are finding success in another market, though.
It's good news for all of you. Opportunity equals options. These manufacturers were putting
great thought into the necessary features that products must have to be specified for senior
living (low glare, moisture barriers, durability, cleanability) but also talked a lot about introducing
additional colorways, patterns, sizes, and customization options.
As senior living design moves toward more hospitality- and residential-inspired settings,
there will be more and more design products available to achieve that vision. And the best part?
Several manufacturers told me those new launches and prototypes are anticipated to be ready for
our main stage: the 2019 Environments for Aging Expo & Conference (April 7-9, Salt Lake City).
In the meantime, though, you're holding a pretty valuable resource in your hands right now.
This Summer 2018 issue delivers our second annual Buyers Guide. Starting on page 26, you'll
find details on hundreds of vendors and service providers working in senior living, organized by
company name and product type. I encourage you to keep this by your side as you embark on
new projects and start specifying everything from appliances to window treatments.
And when you see these vendors in person next year, be sure to touch, feel, sit on, and
experience their offerings. But most important, talk to them-tell them what you like, what you
don't like, and what else you'd like to see. I have a hunch they're going to listen. EFA

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Lori Alford
Chief Operating Officer
Avanti Senior Living
CC Andrews
President and Chief Strategist
Quantum Age Collaborative
David Banta
Associate
Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners
Laura Busalacchi
Senior Director of Interior Services
Brookdale Senior Living
Vassar Byrd
Chief Executive Officer
Rose Villa Senior Living
Margaret Calkins
Board Chair
Ideas Institute
Daniel J. Cinelli
Managing Principal and Board Director
Perkins Eastman
Michelle Clark
Senior Associate
Rees
Andy Coelho
Senior Vice President of Facilities, Design,
and Development
Sunrise Senior Living
Alexis Denton
Principal
SmithGroupJJR
Mitch Elliott
Senior Partner
RDG Planning & Design
Lorraine Hiatt
Environmental Gerontologist
Planning, Research and Design Consultation
Steve Lindsey
Chief Executive Officer
Garden Spot Communities
Dean Maddalena
Founder and President
StudioSix5
Eric McRoberts
Partner
RLPS Architects
Robert C. Pfauth
Director of Senior Living Planning
Erdman
Jane Rohde
Principal
JSR Associates Inc.
Jill Schroeder
Senior Planner/Senior Interior Designer
Pope Architects
Rob Simonetti
Senior Associate and Design Director
SWBR

Summer
Spring 2018 * EFAmagazine.com

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Environments for Aging - Summer 2018

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