This was an experimental project by the Shanghai-based Golden Glory Senior Care Co. in conjunction with an Assisted Living Operator from Texas. The site was inside HKI’s Long Life Elderly Town in Chongqing. The senior residential units are primarily for 60+ independent seniors who have already retired from the workforce but are still active and capable of working. In China, this mostly means working at a reduced capacity on old jobs or taking care of grandchildren.

For this particular group of seniors, we convinced the developer to put in extra effort designing good outdoor spaces, such as making the courtyards in front of residential buildings as beautiful landscaped outdoor social spaces and making green spaces at the end of residential buildings vegetable gardens. These gardens are shared and managed by the community management company and are offered as an amenity to residents.

For residential unit design, we focused our attention on making comfortable homes that are soft, warm, and intimate. Patios and balconies are pulled out towards the courtyards and gardens outside. Unit floor plans are organized by a central living space connected to the patio and balcony spaces and the outside community.