January 1, 2002 |

Woodman Design Group, The Bristal at East Meadow

The Bristal at East Meadow – East Meadow, New York
Woodman Design Group – Chelsea, Massachusetts

Type of Facility/Setting: Assisted Living

Facility Contact: Steven Krieger

Firm: Woodman Design Group, (617) 889-9690

Design Team: Amy L. Woodman, President; Anthony diCola, Principal; Sri Surjawati, Designer

Photography: Stephen SetteDucati

Resident Capacity: 150

Space/Resident (sq. ft.): 800

Total Area (sq. ft.): 120,000

Total Cost (excluding land): $27.5 million

Cost/Sq. Ft.: $229.16

Completion: January 2000

The owners worked closely with the design team to establish a design concept that would translate the residential and community components of the surrounding Nassau County, New York, neighborhood into a facility that accommodated the unique needs of resident subgroups and offered all residents the taste and charm of local establishments.

The plan of the Reflections Wing of the dementia/Alzheimer’s unit allows residents to have private quarters, yet is designed to entice patients to visit with their unit community. Activity spaces, such as the Garden Room, Terrace and Bistro, are positioned in a circular configuration to ensure that patients moving along the “wandering path” will always be in close proximity to staff and other residents. Moreover, the plan avoided long, desolate hallways by inserting “sensory alcoves” along the corridors, augmenting memory-enhancement therapy with tactile and visual stimuli.

The Reflections Wing further catered to the needs of residents by using residential finishes to decrease confusion. Examples are: accenting wet walls and resident doors with darker paint colors; selecting subtle rather than optical patterns in rich, bright palettes; and keeping the unit and corridor carpet the same for a seamless transition from space to space.

For conventional assisted living residents, the Bristal Square wing offers a sophisticated library, sun deck, bistro and formal dining. The Men’s Club, a room featuring deep mahogany millwork and masculine-looking finishes, provides the male population with an inviting setting for card games or an after-dinner drink. For female residents, there is the fully equipped Bristal Spa on the penthouse floor for hair care, manicures and facials.

The section called The Plaza offers the 42nd Street Cinema to all residents; it is made authentic with a working vintage popcorn maker and made functional with double-spaced theatre seating, allowing easy access for walkers and wheelchairs.

The Bristal also offers unique venues for residents to discover and interact with younger visitors, such as the 21st-century Arcade and Internet CafT.

Within six months of opening, The Bristal achieved 99.5% occupancy.

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