AIA Cincinnati Update
Greater Cincinnati Firm Part of National Award-Winning Team
AIA National has awarded Bushman Dreyfus Architects (Charlottesville, VA) the prestigious Design for Aging Review Award of Merit for The Center at Belvedere. Loveland, OH-based Senior Center Design Specialists Lifespan Design Studio served as part of the Bushman-Dreyfus team from planning through construction of the innovative 47,000 square foot senior community center completed in 2020. Congratulations to AIA Cincinnati member Douglas Gallow Jr., AIA, co-founder of Lifespan Design Studio on this recognition!
AIA’s Design for Aging Review Award of Merit recognizes advanced design concepts, research, and solutions sensitive to the needs of an aging population. In announcing the award, AIA representatives hailed The Center as a new prototype and model for similar centers. Calling the robust offering of activities, layout, and level of detailed design “exceptional,” the jury noted that “Every aspect of the site, program, and building reflects a strong desire to be comfortable, safe, and life-enriching for its users. This is not a classic senior environment and works hard to break stereotypes.”
Douglas Gallow Jr., AIA and Lifespan co-founder Ellen Gallow have completed more than 100 senior center planning and design projects in 28 states since 2006. As Doug Gallow explained “We have chosen to become immersed in the senior center community in a way that allows us to understand our clients’ operational goals and challenges, and partner with them in designing effective solutions.” But the unique team’s focus doesn’t stop there: “Universal design features are incorporated seamlessly and without compromise throughout the building and site to create a setting in which people of all ages and abilities can participate in comfort and confidence,” he concluded.
VISION Keynote Lectures Return
After a year off due to the pandemic, AIA Cincinnati’s VISION leadership program has returned with a class of 12 young architects. The VISION Keynote lecture series begins in February with monthly third-Thursday lectures featuring Craig Stevenson, President AUROS Group, Z Smith of Eskew Dumez Ripple, Tim Hawk, FAIA of WSA, and Diana Nichols, AIA with Drexel. Lectures for the summer are still being scheduled. Program details and registration are online. https://aiacincinnati.org/programs/events