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Categories
- 55+
- Active Adult
- Affordable Housing
- Assisted Living
- Behavioral Health
- CCRC / Life Plan
- CCRC / LPC Lite
- Dining Renovation
- Hospice
- Independent Living
- International
- Renovation / Repositioning (Building)
- Renovation / Repositioning (Campus)
- Skilled Nursing / Post-Acute Care
- Small Footprint
- Stand-Alone Memory Care
- Wellness: Health & Fitness
2022 WINNERS
Renovation / Repositioning (Campus)
Forefront Living Presbyterian Village North (PVN)
view
Renovation / Repositioning (Building)
Residences at Wells School
view
Affordable Housing
Casa de la Misión
view
Hospice
Partners In Care Hospice House
view
Small Footprint
BrightStar Care Homes Stephens
view
CCRC / LPC Lite
Modena Reserve at Kensington
view
International
Woodside Village
view
CCRC / Life Plan
Harbor’s Edge River Tower
view
55+
The Glen Retirement System
view
Wellness: Health & Fitness
Byer Square Jewish Homes of San Francisco
view
Independent Living
Corso Atlanta
view
Skilled Nursing / Post-Acute Care
Bishop Gadsden – Gadsden Glen
view
Dining Renovation
Waterstone on High Ridge
view
Assisted Living
Aegis Lake Union
view
Bruce Hurowitz
Assoc. AIA, President, MDP | Merlino Design Partnership
Bruce Hurowitz has been a member of the MDP Team for over 34 years. His career path has evolved in step with the growth and success of the firm, from a valued team member to a respected leader. As president of MDP, Bruce is known for his passion and commitment to inspired senior living design. His industry advocacy and accomplishments have earned him recognition as an EFA Design Champion. As MDP celebrates 50 years of designing senior living environments, Bruce looks forward to continuing to push the envelope on inspired design solutions.
Chris Frommell
AIA, Managing Partner, Direct Supply Aptura
Chris Frommell is a Managing Partner at the Milwaukee-based Aptura, Direct Supply Inc. Chris holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in architectural studies from the University of Illinois.
Cynthia Shonaiya
AIA, LEED AP
Architect & Principal
Hord Coplan Macht
Cynthia Shonaiya, AIA LEED AP, has 29 years of professional experience spanning three continents. As Director of Hord Coplan Macht’s Senior Living practice, she is principal-in-charge of multiple senior living, multi-family and affordable housing projects across the US including the SHN Best Assisted Living Design of 2018 Brightview West End.
David Dillard
Principal Emeritus, HKS Inc.
David Dillard is a Principal Emeritus with HKS Inc. David is a frequent panelist and presenter at industry forums and conventions including Leading Age, AIA, ULI, APA, and Environments for Aging. David holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin.
Eric Krull
AIA, LEED GA, CASP, NCARB, Principal and Executive Vice President, THW Design
Eric Krull is a Principal and Executive Director of THW Design. Eric has worked with more than 50 national senior living organizations, associations and development groups throughout his 27-year career. Eric is a frequent presenter and panelist at national, regional, and state association meetings regarding design awareness for senior living environments.
Gracyn Robinson
ScMHL, EDAC
Gracyn Robinson is an interior design consultant, researcher, and collaborator driven by gathering market intelligence within the Seniors Housing, Health Care, and Digital Health sectors. Passionate about the development of innovative, future-proofed solutions to meet the middle-market, her focus centers on the alignment between the built environment, long-term care, and aging-in-place to help identify ways to safeguard the changes of an aging civilian population with advancements in digital health care delivery. Gracyn received her ScM in Healthcare Leadership degree from Brown University's School of Public Health, is EDAC-certified through the Center for Health Design, and received her certification in Digital Health Innovation from Brown. She has served as an invited jurist for SHN, EFA, and HCD design awards competitions.
Greg Gauthreaux
Associate Principal, Perkins Eastman
Greg Gauthreaux, an Associate Principal with Perkins Eastman, merges his passion for the creative process with a love and curiosity of innovative technology to design spaces that are focused on authentic human experiences. With an expertise in building performance and innovative technologies, Greg leads project teams and stakeholders to understand and navigate the social, economic, and environmental decisions that influence the design of their projects. Greg brings over 15 years of experience in senior living, residential, mixed use, and hospitality projects. His constant exploration for opportunities to converge elements of these practice areas further enriches the environments for his clients and their end users. As a leader in Perkins Eastman's senior living practice, Greg develops a foundation of trust, collaboration, and empathy to inform his design approach. He uses these core principles to guide clients through the exciting journey of realizing their vision.
John Cronin
AIA, Senior Design Architect, AG Architecture
John brings over 34 years of experience to the design of senior living communities, large-scale housing developments, assisted living and memory care households, as well as mixed use projects. As senior design architect, he develops thoughtful architectural solutions to reinforce AG's commitment to Bright Vision. Bold Communities. He shares lessons learned with emerging professionals and mentors designers in the creation of contextual concepts. John's design approach strives to achieve an environment that is well-designed and well-thought-out. In the words of a client, "John is never satisfied with just an acceptable outcome: he pushes the envelope to achieve a superior solution."
John M. Thatch
AIA, LEED® AP, Senior Vice President - Design Innovation, DAHLIN
Champion of new thinking and pushing the envelope of design with ideas that create thoughtful, livable and economically viable communities, John paced himself early to lead design excellence into the future. He is a passionate creative who thrives on the opportunity to design at a variety of scales for a variety of project types. He is known for challenging project teams to develop the most innovative and economically viable solutions, engaging frequently in design brainstorms. John often gains inspiration for design through travel and walking (or sometimes jogging) the great cities of the world—Paris, Philadelphia, Beijing—always with an eye on its detail. He leads the direction in each of his projects by guiding his team through an understanding of the context and essence of the place. He is a veteran judge of design competitions and sought after speaker at national conferences on such topics as active adult communities, urban design emerging markets and trends in community design.
LuAnn Thoma-Holec
FASID, NCIDQ, CID, Principal Owner, Thoma-Holec Design
LuAnn’s experience and passion for senior living interior design inspired her to launch a company exclusively dedicated to it. Founded in 2006, Thoma-Holec Design's award-winning communities are known for their unique, welcoming, and meaningful spaces designed to enhance resident and staff experiences throughout the US and Canada. LuAnn has earned numerous national, regional, and local awards. Her expertise in enhancing the social model of senior living contributes to the marketability of newly constructed and remodeled communities, resulting in faster lease-ups and strong ROIs. LuAnn earned her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and Museum Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Arizona State University. She is a Certified National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCDIQ) and Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH), FASID and CID. She is a licensed interior designer in numerous states and serves as a member of LeadingAge, SAGE, ASID and AZ ALFA.
Melissa Banko
Founder and Principal, Banko Design
After honing her craft at two renowned architectural firms in Atlanta, Melissa Banko founded her own studio in 2014. Senior housing design has always been core to the firm's mission, with an adamant belief that potential residents in this underserved market should have access to timeless, hyper-local design instead of accepting dated interiors or a one-size-fits-all approach. To deliver best in class design, Banko Design applies best practices from hospitality and multifamily markets. In recognition of her contributions to senior living design, Melissa was named a "Design Champion" by Environments for Aging in 2021. She credits this success to her talented and passionate team of interior architects, designers, and procurement agents. The firm has won several prestigious awards, most recently the NEWH Georgia Chapter's "Top ID" award and IIDA Georgia's "Best of the Best" (B.O.B.) award.
Melissa C. Pritchard
AIA, NCARB Leed AP BD+C, Managing Principal SFCS Architects
Inspired by personal experiences and the passion to positively impact our older adults, Melissa is responsible for spearheading the design of major SFCS projects across the country and for leading the firm as Managing Principal. She is focused on elevating all environments for older adults with a deep commitment for high quality of life, and dedication to the design of innovative environments that promote independence and wellness for all. Due to this expertise and her passion for designing for seniors, Melissa was a recipient of the Environment for Aging’s Inaugural Design Champions Award, which celebrates individuals who work each day to push boundaries and continually improve senior living environments. Through independent research on senior issues, providing thought leadership at national and international conferences, post-occupancy evaluations, and fostering collaborative partnerships with clients, Melissa champions SFCS to be one of the senior living national trendsetters.
Ric D'Amico
Senior Vice President, Real Estate & Development, Acts Retirement-Life Communities
Ric D'Amico serves as Senior Vice President of Real Estate and Development. In this role he oversees Acts’ new development projects across all of its campuses. Mr. D'Amico has been a developer for more than three decades and most recently was a partner with The Belaire Group in Des Moines, Iowa, providing senior living development services to both multi- and single-site operators across the country. Mr. D'Amico serves on the National Board of The Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments (SAGE) and chairs the Annual “Remodel / Renovation Competition” for Environments for Aging. He has degrees in both Economics and Architecture from the University of Houston.
Steven R. Levin
Managing Member, CapEX Solutions
Steve Levin started his career in senior housing over 35 years ago. During the course of his career, he designed and built a wide range of assisted living, skilled nursing and senior living communities. In 2011, Mr. Levin was approached by AVIV REIT in Chicago to help them take the company public. In 2013, AVIV went public, trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2015, AVIV was sold to Omega Healthcare Investors, the largest owner of skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. Levin served as their SVP of Real Estate, developing over $2B of real estate, including 15 new developments for Maplewood Senior Living. In late 2019, Levin, a colleague, and the former chairman of AVIV created Hana2.0 Property Group to acquire senior living and skilled nursing facilities and lease to third party operators. The pandemic forced operations to cease and at the end of 2020, Mr. Levin created CapEX Solutions to provide services to renovate, repurpose and rebuild senior living product.
Thomas C. Levi
President, LWDA Design
Thomas Levi is an Architect and Urban Designer with over 45 years of experience in the planning and design of senior living, rehabilitation, and healthcare projects. His vision throughout his career has been to develop a design firm that encompasses a holistic design philosophy (client vision, site, building and interior) that fosters project creativity, innovation and responds to the client's needs. In senior living and care, LWDA integrates four services (architecture, planning, landscape and interior design) to create communities of all sizes, integrate living and working environments, all with the goal of promoting engagement, safety, support and wellness for all users and based on sound social and business approaches. He holds a Bachelor's degree of Architecture from NDSU and a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University.
Ward Isaacson
President, Pope Design Group
Ward Isaacson is the President of Pope Design Group. His 30+ year architectural career in senior living is shaped by his passion for the business of architecture, the impact of good design, and the continued growth of Pope Design Group. He is driven by fostering client and industry relationships, and working collaboratively through the unique challenges and opportunities of each project. Ward has been instrumental in establishing Pope Design Group as a nationally recognized leader in senior living design. He lives Pope’s mission – together, creating environments that enhance lives – and leads by example to continually improves environments for people and communities.
Frequently asked questions
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2023 SHN Architecture & Design Awards Information
The 2023 SHN Architecture & Design Awards will be accepting submissions starting June 1, 2023 and will close submissions on October 31, 2023 at 11:59pm CST. Winners will be announced December 14, 2023.
Click here to join the SHN Architecture & Design Awards Mailing List.
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Who can apply?
Owners, operators, architecture and/or interior design firms can apply. Company and individual submitting entry confirm and consent that all requisite partners in the project, such as owner(s), operator, architecture, and/or interior design firm, have authorized use of such submitted materials.
Any senior living community that fits into one of the categories below that was constructed/renovated and completed between January 1, 2022 to October 1, 2023 with high-resolution photos available for use. Prior submissions should not be resubmitted from previous years.
For projects completed after October 1, 2023 that do not have photographs, site plans, or floor plans, please consider applying to the 2024 Architecture & Design Awards.
Categories
- 55+ Master Plan Communities
- Active Adult
- Affordable Housing
- Assisted Living
- Behavioral Health
- Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) & Life Plan Community (LPC)
- CCRC/LPC Lite
- Dining Renovation
- Hospice
- Independent Living
- International
- Renovation / Repositioning
- Skilled Nursing / Post-Acute Care
- Small Footprint
- Stand-Alone Memory Care
- Wellness: Health & Fitness
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Why should we apply?
The SHN Architecture Awards is a competition and marketing event that positions senior living communities against their peers and is judged by experienced industry professionals. The competition draws entries from across the United States and internationally that showcase the latest trends in senior living architecture and design. Entrants may get featured as nominees in announcements and stories that run on Senior Housing News bringing recognition to the project and firms that helped bring the project to life.
All applicants will receive an SHN Awards Nominee Badge, recognition on Senior Housing News and our email distribution, as well as a mention in a press release that will be submitted nationally. In addition, all nominees and their pictures will be featured on the SHN Awards website for the remainder of the year.
SHN is recognized as one of the best in business publishing and information for senior housing and senior living.
In addition, winners will receive the following:- First place winners will receive a feature story on Senior Housing News.
- Recognition on Senior Housing News website and email.
- Option to purchase a physical plaque.
- An exclusive digital badge that can be displayed on your website.
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What is the submission deadline?
Early bird entries close September 30, 2023.
The final entry deadline is October 31, 2023 at 11:59pm CST. -
How much does it cost to submit my project?
When purchased before September 30, 2023, each early bird submission is $525. Each submission received between October 1, 2023 and October 31, 2023 is $625. Submissions can be paid using any major credit card through our entry form.
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What is the judging criteria?
The SHN Awards for Architecture and Design will be awarded to the communities based upon the following criteria:
Design & Aesthetics – Judges will evaluate the functionality of the community looking at features that are critical to the property type such as universal design techniques as well as design elements such as color, light, landscape architecture and overall creativity of the community’s design vision and sustainable features.
Community Integration – Judges will evaluate the effectiveness of how the community is positioned within the overall community with focus on features that promote access to transportation and other community-based services. Entries should highlight:
- Nearby / walkable amenities
- Design features are a good with with neighborhood & community
- Discussion of how community discussed input with local area
- How the community encourages or invites the broader community to its location
- Showcase of how the property is an infill location or unique redevelopment of shopping malls, hotel or school as examples
- Accessibility to local area resources and ease of in/out access
- Invitations to community & groups to offer programming on campus
** Some of the community integration factors may not be as relevant in entries for standalone memory care.
Amenities & Lifestyle – Judges will evaluate the community’s features that incorporate a healthy lifestyle that provides residents access to products and services that make their lives easier.
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How will the projects be judged?
The projects will be judged by our group of expert panelists on the design and functionality of the buildings. The most innovative communities will be chosen as the winners and receive recognition throughout the industry using SHN.
More details on process here. -
What information do I need to submit?
The following are required to complete your submission to the Senior Housing News Architecture & Design Awards:
1.) Fill out the Professional Form to describe the project (Best practice: Review the Professional Form ahead of time to ensure you collect all of the required information needed. You are not able to save your progress once you start filling out the Professional Form).
2.) Complete a PowerPoint presentation.
Download the General Submission Template
Download the Renovation/Repositioning Template (also for Dining Renovation)We ask that you please submit your PowerPoint presentation in a .pptx format, and not a PDF format.
3.) Provide up to 50 high-resolution photos in JPG format. For renovation projects, please include before and after photographs clearly labeled to demonstrate changes in a before/after type format.
4.) Photos should be at least 72dpi (resolution) and sized to fit inside a space that is 1540px in width and 760px in height. *Photos must be no more than 760px tall. Landscape orientation photos are preferred. But please note that portrait orientation photos can be resized to 760px H with white space added on either side to create the 1540px width needed. (See illustrated example below)
5.) Provide floor plans and site plans in PDF format (considered separate from the 50 photos allotted per entry). Please submit only those documents and not an entire set of architectural documents.
All materials can be submitted through the Professional Form. You can also send larger files via Dropbox or other file sharing service to [email protected]. Remember, you should review the Professional Form ahead of time to ensure you collect all of the required information needed. You are not able to save your progress once you start filling out the Professional Form. The payment page will appear after you click on “Enter Now”.
Any entries that do not include all of the above will be considered incomplete. If there are other items you’d like to submit, please contact us at [email protected]
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Can I see a sample of a winning project submission?
Yes, you can see these sample PDFs of previously submitted projects as a good example of what judges are looking for overall.
View the new nominee entry example.
2020 Renovation / Repositioning Category Winner | Bayview– A Life Plan Community
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Can I submit a video to be included in our submission?
Yes. If you want to include a video, you will need to send us a video with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a finished size of 920 x 518. You must send us a link from Vimeo in order for it to be showcased with the other photos from your submission.
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Do I need to use Vimeo?
Yes. We do not accept links or videos hosted on other platforms. NO EXCEPTIONS.
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Can I send you the video to host on Vimeo?
No. We will not accept videos to be uploaded or hosted by Aging Media or its publications.
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Can you crop/edit/produce the video for me?
We do not offer any type of video editing services.
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Will more photos and site/floor plans help my chances of winning?
More does not always mean better. Your submission should be clear and concise with the right amount of information to let a professional evaluate the community.
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What is the minimum acceptable submission?
For entries that do not fall under the Renovation categories, the minimum requirement is the following:
- Powerpoint in .ppt or .pptx format
- 2 External Photos
- 4 Internal Photos
- Site Plan
- Floor plan for each level
For entries under the Renovation categories, the minimum requirement is the following:
- Powerpoint in .ppt or .pptx format
- 2 External Before & After photos (unless renovation was strictly interior)
- 4 Internal Before & Photos
- Site Plan
- Floor plan for each level
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What do I receive after I submit my project?
When you submit your project, the Awards team will confirm via email that they have received all required materials.
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For the renovation awards, do I need to address how much the project cost and the budget?
It is preferred, however, if your firm or project partners do not want to include financial data (costs and/or budget), it is acceptable to not include it.
Please note for the 2023 program, the Renovation / Repositioning category will have two subcategories: Building vs. Campus
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For the renovation awards, how many photos should I submit?
If you are submitting a project in the Renovation/Repositioning or Dining Renovation category, you should include before and after pictures & label them accordingly. View an example of renovations/repositioning entry submission.
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Who will choose the winners?
The winners will be chosen by our expert team of judges. Please note that any judge who was involved with a project submitted will not be able to cast a vote for that particular project and a representative from SHN will take their place.
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When will the winners be announced?
The winners will be announced on December 14, 2023 on Senior Housing News and later promoted and displayed on our website. Senior Housing News will issue a press release that can be used by entrants for the competition. Communications will be sent via email to all nominees with information.
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Other questions?
Contact us at [email protected]
News & press
Architecture & Design December 14, 2022Announcing the Winners of the 2022 SHN Architecture & Design Awards
Architecture & Design December 7, 2022Announcing the Nominees for the 2022 Architecture & Design Awards
Senior Housing News Architecture & Design Awards Newsletter
Join our mailing list for regular monthly updates on the Architecture & Design Awards Competition.