The Woodlands
The Woodlands is a new 144-resident, seven-story Skilled Nursing Community nestled into a beautiful, wooded site on the John Knox Village Campus in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Influenced by a modern international style drawing from the past era of southeast Florida, the building design includes a touch of playfulness in its shapes and the use of colorful Florida pastels to help embody a feeling of fun and light-heartedness.
Unique community commons on the ground floor are dedicated to elders living upstairs and on campus, site visitors and the JKV staff, helping promote the idea of one community sharing life together. The building's lobby has two prominent entry points, one along an inviting Porte-cochere on the north and the second at the end of a beautifully landscaped courtyard to the south. Careful consideration was given to the exterior massing, scale, and composition to give it a distinctive multi-story residential feel, away from the traditional nursing home model.
A favorite attraction on the ground floor of the community commons is the Palm Bistro, catering to health-conscious individuals desiring fresh gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches, and wraps. Other resort-like amenities are an 80-seat multi-purpose room, library, day spa, and rehabilitation area. Above the ground floor are homes to 144 elders living in a skilled nursing environment, each floor consisting of two homes, in both of which 12 elders reside. Large windows in each bedroom afford residents both the physical and mental benefits of views of the outdoors, while window configurations vary and window treatments are customized so that each room is unique. The open layout of the kitchen, dining, hearth, and sunrooms allows natural sunlight to filter throughout the entire home.
Thoughtfully considered and highly prioritized, the kitchen was designed with visibility to the rest of the home, as clear sightlines enable the staff to stay busy in the kitchen while at the same time allowing visual access to elders in the home.
Designed under the careful eye of The Green House Project, The Woodlands was required to meet four specific criteria in the homes: that each has no more than 12 private bedrooms with European shower; an individual front door and sense of entry into each house; a residential style kitchen; and a gathering space at the dining room table for all elders and staff to share life's memories and to feel part of a family.