three: living architecture has designed Rochester Springs Assisted Living and Memory Care in Mansfield, a senior-care community set to start construction in June. The community will include 51 assisted living units and 44 memory care units. three added one of the top five architecture trends of 2014 to the design of this senior living community by including “flex rooms,” or rooms that are built with future change in mind. 

“We stress looking forward and incorporating future changes into our senior living communities while ensuring they accommodate the residents’ needs,” said Gary Koerner, founder and president of three. “Many new projects and developments are designed with flexibility to allow for potential future renovations and expansion. Not only will this community be a wonderful home for its residents, but it will also be built to allow for potential repurposing.”

The 73,073 square feet, $11.5 million community will be part of a larger office and mixed-use campus on the corner of Matlock Road and East Broad Street. The ground floor will feature two neighborhoods of memory care residences and common areas organized around exterior secured activity courts, with the second floor featuring assisted living residences and common areas. The residences on these two floors were carefully designed to stack vertically in order to reduce construction costs. The living units have been designed to function as either assisted living or memory care units and comply with the most stringent level of local and state requirements. This way, if more assisted living rooms and less memory care rooms are needed in a few months, or even years down the road, the unit numbers can easily fluctuate without requiring regulation-specific alterations. The design also incorporates necessary plumbing rough-ins and future wall and door openings in the structural framing plan to maximize flexibility for evolving lifestyle needs.

“We interviewed several architect firms for our assisted living and memory care project in Mansfield,” said Jerry Crenshaw, managing partner with UDC Global, the developer of the project. “three stood out in our interview process as we were impressed with their capabilities, knowledge and past engagements. Over the past four months, we have been working closely with three on the design of our community and have been very pleased with the process and the project team.” 

“Planned Development Zoning had already taken place when we started on the project, so we were limited with the scope of design we could incorporate,” said Cliff Holasek, senior associate at three: living architecture. “This was a challenge we enthusiastically embraced.  We were able to dramatically enhance the exterior design and function of the original plan and have added European-inspired kitchenettes in the assisted living units. It is always exciting to see walls and rooms transformed into inspired living spaces.”

Construction on Rochester Springs Assisted Living and Memory Care by Hill & Wilkinsonis expected to break ground in June of 2014 with the finished community ready for new residents in June of 2015.