What is aging-in-place?
The answer is complex. Despite being a relatively new concept, it has quickly become marketed as the desired way to retire. For the 80 million Baby Boomers entering retirement in the next 20 years, aging-in-place captures their imagination as a slogan for their preferred way to live—beginning with the newfound freedom of retirement spanning into their golden years. In spite of this desire, aging-in-place is a lofty ambition that not many seniors currently achieve.
To answer the question "what is aging-in-place?,' twelve graduate students from the University of Maryland's Architecture Program, under the guidance of Gensler Principal & Managing Director, Jordan Goldstein and Professor David Cronrath, took the challenge brought to them by Clark Realty Capital to define aging-in-place, and find design solutions that would make this desired way of life more available. Unlike other options, their award-winning design named—"The New Canaan Project"—mixes adaptable products and spaces with the comforts of home. The homes are designed as part of a larger system of streets, wetland, and pathways, that all work together to create a community.
Aging in Place was published in 2014 and is a collaboration between the University of Maryland, Gensler and Clark Realty Capital.