Newer senior communities eschewing the nursing home look

Most older adults say they want to age in place. But the place where they eventually age may be one that is just being designed today.

Boomers who hit adulthood in the 1960s changed the culture with their expectations of better lives. As they head into retirement in record numbers, boomers are not settling for less. And that first wave of boomers that turned 65 in 2011 signals only the beginning. In 15 years, more than 130 million Americans will be 50 or older.

"We're seeing this paradigm shift in the way seniors want to live, and it's changing with the generations," says Paul Bunton, president of BCA Architects, a San Jose, California-based firm that is designing and building "a spectrum" of senior communities in that state.

The projects include residences for active, healthy seniors and adjacent assisted-living centers designed to help ensure quality of life, if age-related problems make independent living difficult. Most important, Bunton says, the facilities cannot look like nursing homes of the past. "You have to make it feel like a residence," Bunton says. "It can't feel institutional at all."

Boomers are demanding access to activities that will challenge them physically and intellectually, he says. In response, the communities have amenities that rival hotels, such as exercise rooms that look like health clubs. Some of BCA's projects are being planned near colleges so residents can take classes. Bunton says there are discussions about including an extension campus staffed by local colleges in an assisted-living complex, giving less-ambulatory residents access to lifelong learning. Other facilities will include professionals to teach and supervise a range of activities and pursuits. "It allows people to do more than play bingo or just do crosswords," he says. "A lot of seniors are looking forward to having the opportunity to do some of the things they didn't have the time to do in their careers."

Other plans include incorporating cafes and stores that are open to everyone, not just community residents. The idea is that an intergenerational mix of people passing through the community benefits both the seniors and their neighbors.

"It's about extending your life in a quality environment," Bunton says. "As architects, we can help people live a longer, better life through design."