Environments for Aging - Spring 2019 - 41

strategy to organize the buildings on the site that
worked well with the day-to-day operations and
different levels of care. There were areas that
had to have on-grade access, like the Health &
Fitness Club with the pool as well as the memory
care courtyards. The solution was to create two
buildings running parallel with the grade that step
up the site and serve as giant retaining walls. One
building is dedicated to independent living and
the other to licensed care. The two buildings are
connected with a sky bridge that developed into
a clock tower and shared arrival court between
the two buildings.
The steep site also created a parking challenge. There simply was no available on-grade
parking to cover the required parking ratios,
so we took advantage of the garage parking
already planned under the building for resident
parking. By raising the ceiling height another
half-story, we were able to utilize car stackers
and double the parking.

How did the idea of including a vineyard
come to be proposed and then actually
built?
The idea for the vineyard came about by thinking
how we would landscape and provide erosion
control on areas of the site that were not going
to be built upon. The elevation, soil, and climate
turned out to be ideal for growing pinot noir
grapes here in the Northwest.
Combined with our founder's North Dakota
farming roots and a childhood friend of our
CEO's who is an accomplished Northwest winemaker, the idea quickly evolved to not only growing the grapes but also producing and marketing
wine with a private label for residents within our
Touchmark communities to enjoy, as well as two
public-facing brands.
The vineyard has become a great focus for
social events, education, and hands-on participation in the winemaking process for residents and
a wonderful way to attract the greater community
to our campus.
There's a strong sense of connectivity on
this project that jurors applauded. Why
was it so important to connect residents
at all care levels to one another as well
as to the surrounding environment-and
what design elements do you think excel
at doing that?
Over 40 years ago, Touchmark's founder was

A casual bistro dining space features a gathering table handcrafted from a tree felled on the site.
searching for a community that could take care
of his aging parents who had different needs.
While it didn't exist at the time, he set out to
build these communities with a connection
between the different levels of care, so spouses
can stay together and visit easily. Sometimes
this is challenging to do over a large campus
with great distances between buildings.
On this project, though, the compact building
footprint and vertical design inherently keep the
distances between buildings relatively short. This
allows much greater efficiency for staff and resident movement. The main arrival point is directly
between the two buildings with equal attention
and prominence given to both the independent
and licensed care entries. The connectivity is
reinforced on the ground-floor entry through several means. The sky bridge gives protection from
the elements and seating under the clock tower
offers a rest area between the buildings.
It's common to see residents from the
licensed-care lodge walking over to enjoy the
sunset view from the main terrace or taking
an art walk to enjoy more of the unique and
commissioned works. Even [amenities are]
reached easily without having to climb steep
grades. Residents use the sky bridge and then
take an elevator that brings them to a short
walk to the pickleball and bocce ball courts
and greenhouse.
There was a very collaborative
approach used on this project. Why was
that so important, and how do you think
it positively impacted the community?
They say "know your market," and we not only

knew our market but the market in this case was
our friends, colleagues, families, fellow college
alumni, members of the same golf club, etc. This
allowed us to start telling the story and getting early
input on the community we would be building.
We decided early on that we would build the
sales and information center in our company
headquarters. This allowed us to host numerous
events with prospective residents and really get a
chance to talk with them and find out about their
preferences and lifestyle as well as let them start to
get to know one another and build a community.
As a company with in-house design, we're
always learning from the last project. We have
13 communities, and we're constantly talking
with operations leaders and caregivers about
how spaces are used and how they could be improved. We learn a lot every day and throughout
the design process.
What do you find to be the most
successful elements of this project that
our readers might apply to their own work?
I think what made this project so successful was
being able to tell an authentic story about the
Pacific Northwest lifestyle at this community and
having it be true to what people have experienced
in nature and throughout their lives here. We were
fortunate to have a site with unbelievable views
and, of course, the vineyard. But it was all about
paying attention to detail, being selective on materials, commissioning local art, using felled trees for
furniture, and drawing on the local history for the
public house inspiration. All of this combines to tell
a story and really connect with residents, families,
staff, and guests. EFA
Spring 2019 * EFAmagazine.com

http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Spring 2019

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