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In Davis, California, a university town where hordes of people bicycle to work and seniors pedal their threewheelers on errands, uniqueness in architecture still counts. So for a major continuing care retirement community (CCRC) there-a nonprofit project 10 years in the making-design had to befit local prospective residents, making a one-type-fits-all senior campus entirely out of the question.
Focus groups began, organized by the Davis Senior Housing and Care Continuum, a collection of concerned citizens who wanted a local retirement community in Davis. Group after group after group pored over drawings and images of representative architectural styles in search of what they liked best, also sharing views on everything from unit floorplans to finishes to marketing materials. Owner/developer/manager Pacific Retirement Services, Inc. took the focus group preferences and merged them with the operational requirements of a major CCRC. The design team from Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects (Portland, Oregon) embarked on drawings and details after Craftsman styling-a clear favorite among participants.
So far, so good. But, says Ankrom Moisan principal Karen Bowery, the project was complex and restrictive. On just 10 acres the community required full-spectrum retirement living and health care quarters for 450 residents plus a laundry list (auditorium, library, dining areas, deli, pool, locker rooms, and assorted lounges, for starters) of hospitality-style amenities.
The biggest challenge, Bowery claims, was locating those public...