Press Release

Hope Houses at Hope Meadows Win AIA Design for Aging Award

SEATTLE — 12.11.2009 — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design for Aging Review awarded highest honors to Mithun’s conceptual design of Hope Houses at Hope Meadows. The biennial competition, a joint effort by the AIA and American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), showcases communities that improve quality of life for the aging while exhibiting innovation in their design and execution. The winning projects will be exhibited at both the AAHSA and AIA annual meetings and featured in the book Design for Aging Review, 10th Ed., published by Images Publishing in 2010.

Hope Houses offer a new model of supportive living to elders of Hope Meadows, an intentional, intergenerational community created to support adoptive families and children coming out of the foster care system. The design of each four-unit communal living residence supports Hope elders’ ability to age in community and preserves relationships between seniors, adoptive families and children through end of life. Located in the center of this rural Illinois community, the Hope Houses connect via an atrium to an existing intergenerational center and are adjacent a new community center and community garden.

The jury applauded the Hope Houses as “a unique and heartwarming senior housing concept that speaks not only to comfortable living for residents, but also the importance of self worth for older adults continuing to contribute to their community.” In presenting the award, jurors also commended the projects’ integration of sustainable design features.

About Mithun

Mithun is a leading sustainable design practice that creates lasting places for people of all ages and abilities. The firm’s innovative and collaborative spirit encompasses architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, urban planning, and ecology ― a multidisciplinary approach that integrates nature, technology and design. mithun.com