Bayside Park Assisted Living

Location: Emeryville, CA
Owner: Bayside Park
Completion: 2010

Bayside Park provides 126 residential units, of which 66 are assisted-living and 60 are independent living. The project includes a dining facility, café, salon, art center, fitness center, nurse stations, therapy rooms, and activity rooms. It also has a specially designed rooftop garden, where residents can pursue gardening. The 120,000 square foot, 5-story building sits at a busy intersection in Emeryville. Our design takes advantage of this by creating a large, street-level lobby with a projecting awning, which along with the ground floor retail space, helps to connect residents to the active neighborhood.

One of the other primary objectives in the design was to make the building feel more home-like and less institutional. To that end we sought to scale down the footprint of the shared resident spaces. On the second and third floors, programmed for forgetful residents, the residents can dine in one of four small dining rooms. They also have access to a series of different shared living spaces that are both comfortable and intimate. Even the main dining room on the first level was subdivided with full height curtains to make it feel more intimate. The traditional model of one shared living space with chairs around the perimeter and a TV at one end may be advantageous for the caretakers but is not ideal for residents. At AgeSong, residents can find quiet in the Library, television in the dedicated TV Lounges, group activities in the Expressive Arts Studios, and people watching in the street-side Cafe. Both through program and interior design we have provided a variety of spaces that will help keep the residents connected to the community and each other.

Photo Credits: Bruce Damonte

Awards + Publications
East Bay Business Times, September 19, “SF firm to build $29M senior residence,” AgeSong Emeryville, Emeryville, CA

San Francisco Business Times, May 8, p. 8, “AgeSong to wrap up Emeryville facility” AgeSong Assisted Living. Emeryville, CA

AIA Design for Aging Review, 11th Edition, Publish Award Building - pages 118-123. “Agesong at Bayside Park”, Emeryville, CA