Rose Villa Senior Living Phase 3

Project highlights: Rose Villa Senior Living Phase 3 

• Architect: Scott Edwards Architecture and Gawron Turgeon Architects
• Owner: Rose Villa Senior Living
• Location: Portland, Oregon
• Category: Special Recognition

This project expands the centralized “urban” core of Rose Villa Senior Living, a 22-acre garden campus in Portland, Oregon, that has reimagined senior living communities. The development functions much like a small town organized around campus amenities and adds two new buildings, Schroeder Lofts and Madrona Grove, to its southern end. 

At first glance, the two new buildings may seem like separate projects, but they are connected below grade and were designed, permitted, and constructed simultaneously. Though they are expressed as discrete typologies with differing aesthetic characteristics, the two buildings, which share a landscaped courtyard that encourages neighbors to interact, still feel related. 

Schroeder Lofts is a five-story, wood-framed multi-use building with below-grade parking, amenities, a child care facility, and 35 independent living lofts. A palpable sense of outdoor living is prompted by oversized windows, garden terraces, and balconies that further activate the neighborhood. On its first floor, community spaces are connected by a covered arcade that draws the sidewalk into the building. The central hub for those spaces is a recreation room that doubles as a lounge, game room, and teaching kitchen. Also along the arcade is a medical clinic, quilting club room, and a resident-operated second-hand shop called Treasure House. 

The steel-framed Madrona Grove includes a two-story licensed residential long-term care facility fronted by a welcoming front porch and public cafe. Its two residential floors include a nursing facility and residential care facility across 32 private rooms. Its floors are inspired by the concept of a small home with groups of rooms, or households, constituting neighborhoods, each with its own common kitchen, dining, and living room spaces connected to the outdoors. To reinforce the concept of home, the interior design relies on restful but vibrant colors, comfortable furniture, and residential-style lighting. 

This project emerged from carefully researched design solutions, close collaborations among the project team, and tremendous care from all parties. The overarching value of connection and independent living informed each phase of the design, from space planning to landscaping. Overall, this expansion has advanced the common understanding of senior living and offers replicable approaches for future projects.