Fran and Ray Stark Assisted Living Villa
Just because senior living facilities often embody a traditional aesthetic, doesn’t mean they have to. We listened to our client and understood their desire to revamp and rebrand the concept of retirement, and knew that our design of the Villa could help communicate this mission. Our ability to turn this preconceived notion of senior living design on its head and pursue something fresher and sleeker speaks to our vision as a firm.
Client
Motion Picture & Television Fund
Location
Woodland Hills, California
Markets/Services
Architecture, Health, Medical Planning, Senior Living, Strategic & Master Plans
Size
34000 - 63,000 SF
Featured Awards
Merit Award, San Fernando Valley Chapter AIA, 2000
Best of Senior Housing Outstanding Achievement Award, National Association of Home Builders, 2003
Honorable Mention, Modern Healthcare Design Awards, 2002
Best of Senior Housing Design Award, National Association of Home Builders, 2002
Citation, AIA Design for Aging Review, AIA, 2000
Outstanding Achievement, Design 2K Magazine, Long-Term Care Design Awards, 2002
Outstanding Achievement Award, Design 2003
Nursing Homes Magazine/Long Term Care Management and SAGE Competition, 2002
The building won the innovation award because it challenged notions about what retirement should be...But what really stands out is the building's design.
—National Association of Home Builders, Jury Comments
The Fran and Ray Stark Assisted Living is an award-winning facility in Woodland Hills, California that is run by the Motion Picture & Television Fund. A non-profit organization dating back to the days of Charlie Chaplin, its mission is to enrich the lives of people in the entertainment community by continuously evolving to meet their health and human services needs.
The MPTF’s new, thoroughly modern villas provide a stylish and comfortable lifestyle for movie and television industry retirees. Phase 1 of the master plan that our team developed, the villas create a redefined concept of retirement for those who spent their lives redefining cinema.
There are no heavy drapes, dark carpets, and ornate wooden details in the new Stark Villa. Contemporary features like open areas, natural light, and a minimalist aesthetic fill the interiors with cheeriness, while outdoor space that is equal in size to the interiors offer residents a variety of gardens: one devoted to aromatherapy, another, to butterflies.
Our team still wanted the space to respect tradition, but in a way that deviated from the weighty materiality typical of senior living homes. A touch of old Hollywood is communicated through the use of barrel-vaulted roofs and ceilings, reminiscent of early movie studios.
Although it took a little time to acclimate to the new aesthetic, the residents have come to love Fran and Ray Stark Villa, and are finding that its modern and spacious, light and nature-focused design—with just a few hints of old Hollywood—are providing the perfect environment to enjoy their retirement.
