Merrill Gardens at Kirkland
Kirkland, WA
Merrill Gardens Retirement Communities
Runberg Architecture Group
SRM Development
Awards:
2009 MFE Grand Award: Project of the Year for Senior Housing
The New Model for Assisted Living
The Merrill Gardens at Kirkland was completed in 2009, and consists of 115 retirement and assisted living apartments, offering independent living, assisted living, and respite care. The community covers 172,000 sf, including amenities such as a multi-media room/theater, wellness center, wine bar, 24-hour dining room, barber shop, commercial space, and below-grade parking.
Challenges:
Residents of assisted living communities are known to spend the majority of their time within their respective units. Commercial spaces, community spaces, HVAC, and environmental noise can become intrusive and degrade the quality of sound, reducing the intelligibility of human voices and negatively affecting serenity within the residences.
Solutions:
SSA provided architectural and engineering acoustic design recommendations to achieve specific noise levels in accordance with amplifiable codes and criterion. Architectural elements, including walls, windows, doors and floor/ceiling assemblies were designed to achieve the appropriate levels of sound transmission. An environmental assessment, including an advanced analysis of traffic noise collected at the site was used in designing recommendations and details for units facing heavy traffic.
Additional Involvement:
Merrill Gardens is one of the top operators of independent and assisted living retirement communities in the country, with over 24 communities operating in Washington State. SSA Acoustics is proud to be involved with over 10 of their projects throughout the years. Founded in 1993, Merrill Gardens provides senior housing for independent living, assisted living, and Alzheimer's care. The goal of each Merrill Gardens community is to support the independence, individuality, privacy, and decision-making ability of each resident. Merrill Gardens has grown from one community in 1993 to 55 communities in 9 states.