Environments for Aging - Spring 2019 - 93

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Q&A

with Bruce Hurowitz, Assoc. AIA
Principal, Merlino Design Partnership, Inc.
Describe your business
in one sentence.
Merlino Design Partnership
is a full-service Interior
Architecture & Design
firm with over 45 years of
experience in designing
award-winning, trendsetting
communities that enrich the
lives of seniors.
What's one major design
or care delivery trend
that's shaping your work
today? And how so?
We have always designed
hospitality-inspired
communities, environments
that offer residents safe,
social, supportive and
spiritual spaces to support
their desired lifestyle. Now,
more than ever, our designs
provide a more holistic
journey for seniors focused
on living and aging well.
At the Vista, the wellness
programs are crafted as
an integrated series of
programs and activities to
enhance the body, mind
and spirit. Culturally, the
Center for Performing Arts

will allow residents to enjoy
a variety of performances
from neighboring theater
companies and musical
groups as well as movies
and more. All of these
activities will be carefully
planned and managed with
a well-integrated technology
platform enabling the
residents to plan their
day with an app on their
smartphone or tablet.
In what sector of senior
living do you expect to
see the most growth in
the next few years?
We are designing
communities in more urban,
mixed use settings, similar
to the Live-Work-Play model
that appeals to younger
generations. This format
allows us to externalize
some of the typical
amenities needed in standalone communities. These
multi-generational, mixed
use environments offer a
vibrant community feel that
energizes seniors and is
a very appealing model to

residents first entering the
senior living continuum. Due
to the elevated expectations
of incoming seniors and the
abundance of retail space
in existing shopping and
town center complexes, we
believe this concept is here
to stay.
Is there an experience
you've had personally
or with a client/resident
that changed the way
you view your work?
As a firm, we have been
designing for residents with
memory loss for decades;
in fact, we designed the first

free-standing community
in the state of New Jersey
dedicated to seniors with
Alzheimer's. We have
designed dozens of these
types of projects, and we
are continuously learning
as well as educating others
on the design needs and
challenges of seniors with
cognitive loss. With all of
this experience, I believe
an interaction at a recent
project provided valuable
clarity on this subject. While
designing a community in
central Pennsylvania, our
design team met in the
center of a Memory Care
residence. I was immediately
greeted by one of its
residents. This particular
resident stayed by my side
the entire day, escorting
me by hand to every area
of the community. I spent a
couple hours with her during
her normal activities and
gained great insight into how
much we know, and more
importantly how much we
don't know, about living with
the loss of cognitive abilities.
It is an afternoon I will never
forget.
www.MerlinoDesign.com

The Vista, Wyckoff, New Jersey. Photo: VisionBuilders USA
http://www.MerlinoDesign.com http://www.MerlinoDesign.com
Environments for Aging - Spring 2019

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