Abacus Institute

Excellence by design.

Affording comprehensive, credible and innovative insights for ongoing accomplishment.

 Aging & Dementia

By 2031, the largest segment of the US population–the Baby Boomers–will reach the age of 85. This is the age when people experience the greatest number, and most extreme effects, of the normal changes associated with aging, including the highest risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease; at this time, there is no prevention or cure. The design of settings, however, has a dramatic effect on the quality of living and care for older adults. A supportive environment, while particularly relevant for people with impairments, can benefit everyone. 

Lean

Lean has become a proven, practical approach to process improvement. Manufacturing organizations like automaker Toyota, from whom a lean approach called “The Toyota Way” originated, have developed amazing sophistication by engaging production workers in building and refining processes. Distilled down to its essence, lean is a way to capitalize upon the intelligence and experience of “front-line” employees. In a lean organization, management empowers employees to define and then continuously refine processes that become standardized across the organization. Lean can be applied to designing and building buildings in an effort to improve efficiency, efficacy and economy within a variety of industry sectors.

Lighting

Proper lighting design has a profound impact on health, well-being, productivity, safety, and the experiential quality of spaces. Lighting exposure, intensity, and color considerations are important for creating optimum photobiological wellbeing (e.g., the circadian system and vitamin D synthesis), especially for people who have compromised vision and/or increased sensory sensitivity. Efficient design and energy conservation are also essential considerations for the practical everyday use of senior living, education, residential, retail, corporate, and hospitality settings.

Senior Living

Consumer and personnel demographics, expectations and patterns of use are rapidly changing within the continuum of Independent, Assisted and Skilled Nursing Care. Long-term care settings are also subjected to some of the most specialized regulatory and administrative requirements, standards of practice, reimbursement stipulations, and building and life-safety code considerations. It is critical that the design, systems and features of senior living setting support client desires, aging-specific abilities, and align with organizational goals for operations including policies, procedures and workforce expectations.

Other

Additional industry and subject matter experts are engaged in Abacus Institute as needed to ensure the highest quality of architectural design possible.

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