David Sisson Architecture
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Assisted Living Design in the Age of COVID-19

12/31/2020

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​As a firm committed to designing for seniors in care home settings and those aging in place, we’ve learned a lot over the past year. Assisted living facilities have been especially hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic: tragically, over 40% of COVID deaths (over 100,000 people) in the US have been associated with long term care. People living in these communities have higher levels of impairment and chronic illness, which can increase their risk of infection. And residents live in close proximity to each other and are in close contact with caregivers, further increasing the probability of that infections will spread.
 
What has the pandemic taught us about assisted living design, and how will it change our approach post-COVID? We have put together a compendium of solutions used during the pandemic:
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​Infection-safe pods—these self-contained, sanitized spaces enable crucial contact with visiting family without risk of infection. Glass or malleable plastic walls allow residents to see or even touch visitors. Future assisted living communities will need to be designed with spaces that can be converted for this use. 
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​Isolation and quarantine areas—these can be residents’ normal rooms but additional spaces should also be available. Moving forward, we will need to increase the standard square footage dedicated to this. Single rather than shared rooms are desirable, and ventilation planning will include operable windows, exhaust fans, filters, and more powerful HVAC systems.
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​Integration of digital communication technologies like Zoom and Facetime. Smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo helped residents feel connected during social isolation. The Elli-Q robot was designed specifically to promote social connectedness for older adults. Architects will need to pay more attention to building in hardware (large screens, microphones, speakers) for these technologies.
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​Respite spaces for staff who are working long hours. Supports staff physical wellbeing and mental health. Spaces should also be designated for command centers during crises and for staff testing.
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Dining on wheels is useful when residents need to quarantine or isolate—food is delivered on a cart. But communal dining is important to residents’ wellbeing and can be done safely in combination with other strategies. Tables can be spaced far apart and residents can eat in small groups at assigned times.
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Zoning, cohort, or household models can help minimize the spread of disease. These smaller, homelike settings also improve the quality of life of residents through increased opportunities for community-building and privacy. The Green House Project has developed a successful model.
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Outdoor-indoor spaces such as porches and decks offer a connection to nature and the outside world. They allow residents to sit back and observe but also provide space for exercise. These areas are often larger than interior spaces and can therefore accommodate both physical distancing and visual connection.
Contact us to discuss our work with assisted living communities, and how we can help you implement new strategies in care home design.

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478 out of 116,000 Architects in the US are Black Women

12/18/2020

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Just 478 out of approximately 116,000 licensed architects in the US in 2019 identified as black women. And there were only 1,847 licensed African-American male architects. Altogether, black-identifying women and men make up 2% of architects in the US.

If that does not sound distressing to you, here are some numbers to put things into perspective: African-Americans represent about 13% of the US population. At the very least, the profession should look like the world we live in.
 
Why?


As Architect magazine puts it,

“The underrepresentation of many ethnic groups translates not only to inequities within the profession, but also to missed opportunities in business.”

The problem needs to be attacked at every level from creating a high school pipeline to the profession, to rethinking the cost of college (architecture is more expensive than many majors because students have to pay for equipment and materials for their work), transforming firm culture so that hiring and retention are not obstacles, and making sure that firms are intentional in their choice of clients, projects, and communities.
Every architecture firm has a part to play in this process. David Sisson Architecture has worked with high school students from underrepresented backgrounds through the Rhode Island College Upward Bound program, and The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center to provide internships. We were excited to work with two high school students from Central Falls, RI, Eliane and Karen, in summer 2019. They shadowed our architects on site visits, meetings with clients and city officials, research trips to libraries and local archives, and sat next to us as we developed designs on Revit. As part of this program, we have nurtured relationships with black-identifying consultants such as architectural historian, Ito Osayimwese, who have spoken with our interns about their experiences attending architecture school and working in the profession.
 
Learn more:
National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), https://www.noma.net/
Alice Liao, “Increasing Diversity in Architecture: Barriers to Entry,” Architect, May 13, 2019
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, “Demographics, 2017”
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Renovating a Small Rhode Island Factory Building

12/1/2020

2 Comments

 
Driving through East Providence, you are likely to notice our office at 345 Taunton Avenue, East Providence. It’s a two-story cinder block box, painted battleship gray, with massive picture windows.
When we bought it in 2018, it had been a semi-abandoned office building for years. Before that it was home to a jewelry manufacturing outfit, Banana Bob. 
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We found jewelry notions like this scattered all over the place when we moved in. It turns out that Banana Bob was a popular company and their pieces are collectors' items today!


With its large, open floor plan (previously used for assembly line jewelry production), the building was ripe for renovation into modern office space.


Here’s what we did to transform the building:
  • Checked the roof for leaks (luckily it was relatively new)
  • Cleaned out junk (including a nifty old conveyor belt that moved products from the basement to the parking lot)
  • Identified leaks (mainly in the basement), patched cracks with hydraulic concrete and sealed with masonry waterproofing paint
  • Reinstalled gutters and downspouts and pointed them away from the building (it is amazing how often downspouts are the culprit for water damage!)
  • Repointed cracks in cinder block walls (another cause of water damage)
  • Replaced broken, old windows with new, energy-efficient glass
  • Partitioned the open floor plan into smaller spaces for rent as offices and residences
  • Repartitioned existing bathrooms to increase the total number of stalls, installed new toilet and sink fixtures (this required some plumbing)
  • Fitted out the interior with insulation, drywall, paint (new paint is absolutely magical)
  • Rewired electrical for new light fixtures and smoke detectors
  • Reused original and purchased additional hanging industrial heaters
  • Refinished the wood floors
  • New exterior and interior doors
  • Installed new handrails at front door
  • Cleaned up years of trash in the parking lot and planting areas. Trimmed trees, pruned hedges, and spread gravel.
It’s been a lot of hard work but we are proud of transforming this eyesore on Taunton Avenue into a hub of activity.
 
345 Taunton Ave. is now home to David Sisson Architects, Mountaincow, East Providence Martial Arts, Elsie Osei Artistry, as well as two new live-work spaces.
 
Like all old American cities, Providence has many empty old factory buildings—in every size you can imagine. To keep our city alive, we have to reuse these buildings.
 
David Sisson Architects has worked with multiple clients to renovate some of these buildings, turning their spacious interiors into cafes, print shops, yoga studios, office space, live-work space, etc. See our loft conversions in our portfolio. 
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© 2013-2021 David Sisson Architecture, PC

David Sisson Architecture is a full service professional architecture firm based in East Providence, Rhode Island. We are licensed, registered, and insured for architectural services in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, providing both commercial architecture and residential architecture services. David Sisson is available for institutional architectural design, assisted living design, new construction and remodeling, and office and retail interior design.

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1.401.595.7070

info@ds-arch.com

David Sisson Architecture
​345 Taunton Avenue
East Providence, RI 02914
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  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Portfolio
  • Case Studies
    • East Side Double Decker Remodel
    • Daycare Expansion Project
    • Commerical Loft Conversion
    • Luxury Single Family Hingham
    • Elementary School Renovation
    • Urban Single Family Providence
    • Investment Property Remodel
    • Assisted Living Addition
    • Providence Place Mall Interior
    • Jewelry Factory Loft Conversion
    • 12-Unit Apartment Building
  • Reviews
  • Book a Consultation
  • Our Team
  • Blog