Architecture for Aging: 9 Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

As the baby boomers grow older, they increasingly need places to do so with grace. Sometimes this is a design solution that converts a home so the elderly can “age-in-place,” but often it means relocating to an assisted-living facility or nursing home. This expanding architectural field is open to many design innovations, from technologies and ways of making spaces feel like home, to finding new ways for residents to make communities in their new surroundings.

Here are some of our favorite nursing homes in the Architizer database.

Nursing Home in Sceaux by Philippe Dubus Architects, Sceaux, France

This home unites two old hotels, making the most of their programmatic similarities to produce a new nursing home complex.

Lohbach Residential and Nursing Home by Marte.Marte Architects, Innsbruck, Austria

Who wouldn’t want to retire in one of the most beautiful places on Earth?

St Brieuc’s Elderly Establishment by Nomade Architectes, Saint-Brieuc, France

In order to respect the residential neighborhood it resides in, this home is nine small house-like blocks with double-pitched roofs.

Senior Center of Guangxi by Atelier Alter, Nanning, China

The goal of this complex is to foster as many social interactions as possible in the communal spaces.

Cranendoncklaan by 2.0 Architects, Budel, The Netherlands

Designed “according to the newest scientific knowledge about dementia,” the architects managed to achieve results: “The measurement of conflicts decreased with almost 80%!”

IDU TERRACE Nursing Home for the Elderly by Motoyasu Muramatsu Architects, Japan

This nursing home was designed with the surroundings — both in terms of community and environment — in mind, with Mt. Fuji as a backdrop.

Middelwijck Middenbeemster by BLANCA architecten, Prinses Beatrixpark, Middenbeemster, The Netherlands

With four different styles of apartments in addition to temporary-stay facilities and group homes, this housing complex accommodates a variety of different needs and lifestyles.