Nurturing individuality

To affirm and defend the beauty, the purpose, and the sacredness of all human life,” is part of the mission of the Carmelite  Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. To the sisters, care is not a business; they call it “serving our cherished and loved elders.” To that end, this Catholic order constructed a new assisted living residence, the $5.9 million, 20,000-square-foot Good Shepherd Cottage at Santa Teresita in Duarte, Calif. The home is part of an evolving 12-acre campus (or “Neighborhood of Care”) and the first phase of a redevelopment of much of the property. Once completed, the neighborhood will “create interrelationships between indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as other buildings, that facilitate interactions among residents, their families and staff,” according to Joyce Polhamus, vice president of SmithGroup, who oversaw the Good Shepherd project.

Read more about this Envirnonments for Aging award winner here.