Senior Living: Architecture Designed for Well-being
Following the global experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, the new normal has brought about several profound changes in our ways of socializing, working, and taking care of each other in the community. These changes, coupled with the most recent advances in technology, medicine, and communications, have rapidly propelled a new concept in hospitality for the elderly: Senior Living.
Sotileza Senior Living, Preliminary Project located in Bogotá, Colombia. GP
Without a single model of application, the concept of Senior Living is understood as a set of accommodation and medical assistance services designed to meet all the needs of older adults, from physical well-being and assisted care to a sense of purpose and community.
With life expectancy increasing around the world, today's seniors have placed new demands on the table for architects, planners, and developers involved in the design, construction, and operation of these types of accommodation services. These demands are especially linked to the expectation that both the residents and their families have for safer, more flexible, and technologically advanced spaces without having to sacrifice the assistance, care, and comprehensive well-being that these places traditionally offer.
Among the new models of Senior Living, we can find:
- Senior Cohousing: This model is defined as a group of people with common interests who join through a cooperative to promote the project where they will reside. This allows for reducing costs in the construction and/or purchase of the property.
- Senior Coliving: This concept refers to a community residential model that has similarities with coworking or cooperative work. In this sense, residents share the common spaces of the same residence, promoting the economic distribution of expenses and community life.
- Senior Living Resort: Styled like a vacation villa or small urbanization, this type of resort is defined as developments with complexes of apartments, usually of the first category, that have numerous facilities of all kinds and enjoy full medical care services.
Despite the differences in the models mentioned above, the modern concept of Senior Living transversally shares a series of characteristics, such as:
- Spacious interior and exterior spaces
- Excellent natural and artificial lighting
- The use of natural materials in its interior design
- Investments in medical technology and communications
- Improvements in air quality and circulation
These efforts seek to strengthen the sense of community, offering various activities related to the emotional value and sense of purpose of the resident in their community.
At Gómez Platero Arquitectura & Urbanismo, we've expanded our portfolio to include Senior Living projects, leveraging our extensive expertise in residential, hotel, and healthcare architecture.
Sotileza Senior Living is a residential project of 27,900 m² located in the hills of Sotileza, one of the fastest-growing territories in the luxury residence segment in Colombia. It is characterized by its attractive natural landscape with a privileged view of the territory and an offering of amenities designed for the optimal enjoyment and physical and emotional fulfillment of adults 65+.
