JA unveils nature-inspired amenity village at Lacey senior community
BY EMMA LAPWORTH
ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN SEATTLE DAILY JOURNAL OF COMMERCE ON FEBRUARY 19, 2025.
Oak Tree Village / Photo by Rafael Soldi
A new amenity village, designed to support active lifestyles, opened last summer at Ovation at Oak Tree, a 55-plus home ownership senior community in Lacey.
Designed by Seattle firm Johnston Architects, The Villages is a collection of two buildings. A community building houses a living room, game room, and a large demonstration kitchen and a fitness building includes a gym space with a diversity of equipment, a yoga room, and a pool house with large glass windows looking out to surrounding nature, plus an exterior hot tub.
The community building is designed to look like two buildings connected with a breezeway.
The Villages consciously bucks several senior living design norms and is crafted to appeal to visitors and family members as much as providing a space of social interaction for residents. Jack Chaffin, partner at Johnston Architects, said it was a priority for residents that the amenity village was appealing to all age groups. “The residents wanted these buildings to be a magnet for guests to come visit,” he said.
Guests will no doubt be drawn to The Villages diversity of amenities. The game room includes a pool table, shuffleboard, poker table, a dartboard, and comfy informal seating. The community room includes a dedicated area for wine tastings with a large formal table, wine lockers, and seating areas for more informal gatherings.
Both buildings have centerpiece double-sided fireplaces that look out to a natural oak preserve on the property and can be enjoyed from both inside and outside.
There is also a plethora of outdoor amenities including two firepits, bocce ball courts, a dog park, and pickleball courts. The yoga room opens to a workout patio.
Amenities include a pool house… / Photo by Rafael Soldi
… and pickleball courts. / Photo by Rafael Soldi
Spaces at The Villages are designed to be flexible and can evolve to meet residents' needs in both the long and short term. The layout for the community building was originally envisioned to be a large events space that could be rented for outside events like weddings, but after consultation with residents it was decided a better course of action would be to design a more flexible floorplan that better complemented day to day use by seniors and their visitors, in addition to having the ability to open up the space for large events.
The Villages also breaks the mold in terms of architectural style. “From the outset, the client allowed us to design a unique building with a civic presence and elevated architecture” Chaffin said. “Senior living spaces are often expected to be referential and hearken back to past or classic architectural styles but these are thoroughly modern buildings,” he continued.
JA's designers intentionally kept the expression of the buildings elegant and minimalistic to differentiate them from the surrounding neighborhood homes and complement the site's natural surroundings. This involved small but important design decisions like choosing not to have any visible gutters and restrained entries to keep the building forms as abstract as possible.
The buildings are oriented to look out towards an oak tree preserve. / Photo by Rafael Soldi
“We envisioned the development as a geometric form sitting in the landscape, rather than one that would stand apart from it,” Chaffin said.
The buildings are carefully positioned and oriented in a fan position facing towards the oak tree preserve to highlight views of the natural amenity and transport guests to the forest. “They are almost like view finders to the preserve,” Chaffin added.
Blending the building with the surrounding nature was a major design goal and one that Chaffin said he is most proud of. Wherever possible, ceilings are vaulted to maximize oak preserve views. Interiors also incorporate natural elements like a live-edge walnut concierge desk, bark-inspired wall coverings, and fir-wrapped vaulted ceilings that extend down the walls.
“We have taken a natural amenity, the oak preserve, and amplified it with the addition of these buildings and their architectural elements,” Chaffin said.
Despite their modern look and feel, JA used strategies to ensure that the buildings were as comfortable as possible for seniors. Everything is located on one level, with accessible parking spaces, power-opening doors and no necessary ramps. High-contrast design elements and well-lit surfaces accommodate the visual needs of older residents, while carefully selected furniture ensures ease of use and cleanliness for a mix of body types and abilities. Large swaths of glass in select areas bring in abundant natural light, and the layout is configured to prioritize accessibility and comfort for the 55-plus demographic.
Local art plays a significant role at The Villages, with 30 pieces by Pacific Northwest artists featured throughout the community, including a mural of Mount Rainier.
JA previously designed the original amenity space at Ovation at Oak Tree, called The Pavillion. The Pavillion, which includes a smaller kitchen, gathering and fitness space, opened in 2019. Feedback from that project influenced the design for The Villages.
The Pavilion is located on the opposite side of the community. A set of nature trails connect the two amenity areas.
Around 800 homes make up Ovation at Oak Tree.
The general contractor for The Villages was Taylor Morrison.