Senior Housing News Announces 2023 Architecture and Design Award Winners

January 16, 2024
Interior Design Senior Living Interiors

The annual awards honor work that raises the standard for architecture and design across the behavioral health and post-acute care continuum.

Senior Housing News (SHN) has recognized the renovation of Eastcastle Place, completed in collaboration between RDG Planning & Design and AG Architecture and led by LCS Development, with a 2023 Architecture and Design Award. The annual awards recognize excellence in design for senior living communities across 17 categories. Eastcastle Place received an SHN Renovation/Repositioning (Campus) Award, which celebrates the transformation of two or more buildings. Working alongside AG Architecture, RDG’s interior design and FFE team developed resident-centered design solutions that prioritize adding unique entry-fee independent living units and updating amenity spaces to elevate resident life. 

“We are thrilled to be recognized by Senior Housing News for work on Eastcastle Place. Eastcastle Place exemplifies the team’s commitment to designing functional, safe spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and conducive to vibrant community life,” said RDG Interior Designer and Senior Partner Kelley Hoffman, NCIDQ. “This project was one of deep collaboration where every design decision put the comfort and well-being of residents at the forefront.”

Located on Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s vibrant East Side, Eastcastle Place is a nonprofit retirement community that provides residents opportunities for genuine connection, both to one another and to the surrounding walkable lakeside neighborhood. Eastcastle Place has historically maintained a pulse on the evolving needs and expectations of the senior population. Combined with its willingness to adapt and change, this insight into market trends allowed the community’s leaders to identify key updates that would reinvigorate the campus and maintain Eastcastle Place’s competitive edge - all while supporting its deeply rooted commitment to help residents keep exploring, learning and thriving every day.

“The entries for the 2023 SHN Architecture & Design Awards were nothing short of impressive,” said George Yedinak, founder and executive vice president of Aging Media Network, a WTWH Media Company. “This year, nearly 100 SHNA entrants pushed the envelope of innovative architecture and design across the continuum of care. They continue to raise the standard for what architecture and design should be across the behavioral health and post-acute care continuum.” 

The SHN Design and Architecture Awards judges evaluate entries on several criteria: community functionality, essential design aspects like universal design, color, light, landscape architecture, creativity and sustainability (Design & Aesthetics); how well the community integrates with the broader area, focusing on transportation access and local services (Community Integration); and features promoting a healthy lifestyle and accessibility to resident services (Amenities & Lifestyle).

Written by Erin Van Zee, Communications Director