Aegis Kirkland sits atop a picturesque hillside overlooking Lake Washington. With each of their senior communities, our client and frequent collaborator—Aegis Living—seeks to create an environment that responds to the aging population within a five-mile radius. After research shared that seniors in Kirkland, Washington are extensive travelers, we were inspired to design a community that embodies an idealized version of their memories and the romance of Italy’s Amalfi Coast. The experience begins with a sculpture garden that includes a piece imported from Italy and connects the building’s entrance to the waterfront art experience along the adjacent street. Giant arched windows, vivid striped awnings, and a luxurious courtyard appear to be directly relocated from the Italy to Washington. The opulent entry plaza emulates a Mediterranean hotel: a grand auto port for easy drop-offs or pick-ups hides the driveway to the underground parking garage. Taking design inspiration from the Amalfi Coast villages, the massing is designed to feel like a collection of small structures built over time. Adding to this effect, we pushed the upper floors back to not only provide sweeping vistas of Lake Washington, but also make it seem further away from the street. A variety of Italianate materials communicate the coastal aesthetic: stucco, stone, heavy timber, handmade-looking tiles, and ornate metalwork. Aegis Living encourages residents to engage with their community. The private units are deliberately petite and designed to draw people into communal amenities, like the main dining room or casual pub. The amenity focused philosophy also gave us an opportunity to resolve their primary site challenge: an entry area located below ground level. We transformed what was essentially a basement into an impressive, daylight filled indoor-outdoor shared space. The Grotto evokes the emotion of an archaeological dig. The space is lined with rough stone that feels carved out of the earth. Thanks to the vaulted glass ceiling and air conditioning, residents can enjoy an outdoor environment even during Washington’s famously rainy weather. Complementing the Grotto’s intimate below-ground experience, the Sky Lounge offers expansive views of Lake Washington from above. Because ceiling height is constrained in upper floors, our architects worked closely with the mechanical and structural teams to ensure this amenity contained the necessary mechanical and electrical equipment while delivering open views. We opened up the roof and used wood beams to create the warm, luxurious feeling that the roof was “peeling away” from the new to expose something beautifully old. At Aegis Kirkland, we created a landmark that stands out from the typical Pacific Northwest building, drawing in residents and locals alike with bold colors and distinctive architecture style.

Our Interiors Design team collaborated closely with our long-time clients at Aegis Living to emulate a luxurious Italian travel experience for their Kirkland, Washington senior community. Without leaving the site on a hillside overlooking Lake Washington, the project’s interior colors, materials, and artwork together with the architecture to take residents on a trip to the Amalfi Coast. Everything about the interior feels warm, sumptuous, and vibrant. We realized our client’s vision for luxury Italianate by sourcing elements that evoked the same feel of handmade, custom work. No detail was overlooked, from ornate hand-carved wood trim and corbels to custom tilework inspired by Italian piazzas. Bold patterns and natural elements are set off beautifully by warm wood casework, arched entryways, and elegant ceilings with multiple layers of character and texture. Many of the finishes we selected—aged gold brass moments, reclaimed wood floors in the pub, brick around the elevators—are meant to look authentically aged and antique, so they will continue to wear elegantly as they are used. Aegis’s philosophy encourages residents to engage with their community and spend most of their time outside of their private units, making the design of the communal areas vital. In the Grotto, a sunken indoor-outdoor amenity space, we used a variety of materials to add visual depth and drama. Beautiful stonework and travertine which one might see on the rock walls at archeological digs along the Italian coast. Natural light streams through a vaulted glass ceiling onto lush plantings and a water feature gently gurgles in the background. It is the perfect place to meet friends or relax, even during the cold of winter and the heat of summer. Aegis Living puts extraordinary thought into its Memory Care program. In Kirkland, these specially designed spaces were a vision of collaboration between our Interior designers and our client’s team. We created a unique experience of Italian road trip that hints at transporting residents through the Mediterranean countryside, the bustling, ancient streets of Rome, and the sparkling piazzas of Venice. Residents can grab an espresso from the café or a sweet treat from the gelato cart. Outside to inside, the Aegis Kirkland is an all-encompassing experience; a permanent Italian vacation translated to the Pacific Northwest, evoking memories of adventure, luxury, and relaxation on the Amalfi Coast. Ciao!