Skyler A Future Vision for Aging in Place Housing

Skyler A Future Vision for Aging in Place

A housing concept envisioned by architect and innovator Matthias Hollwich as a " New Aging Tower" provides residents a home and community during all of life' s stages

Adapted from , a publication by and the .

Looking Forward

A floor-by-floor schematic diagram of Skyler (above) and a rendering of the tower's window-filled exterior (below). Renderings courtesy Hollwich Kushner, HWKN.com Creating housing that works for people of all ages requires outside-the-box thinking and a bold vision. That’s what architect and innovator achieved with , a housing concept envisioned as a “New Aging Tower” that offers residents a home and community for all of life’s stages. Combining apartments, social areas, childcare, work spaces, health care facilities and a spiritual center, Skyler is a “place where generations commingle, where the young can invigorate the old and the old can mentor the young,” Hollwich explains. The imagined structure contains 600 residential units, including micro studios for millennials, duplexes that serve as single-family residences and co-living apartments that foster community. Amenities include laundry and grocery shopping services as well as shared transportation options. The existence of supportive, aging-inclusive communities could reduce the frequency of older people moving to assisted living facilities and nursing homes since, Hollwich notes, many residents in such places “are there because of social deficits, not physical deficits. They are craving a sense of community.” “It has been the easy solution to say, ‘Old people go here and young people go somewhere else,’” says Hollwich, who’s also the author of . “That has been the architectural response to aging for the last hundred years.” But, he adds: “If you design for older people, you can create places that are good for everyone.”

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