SFCS Architects

10/23/2026

Great design starts long before the first drawing.

At SFCS, great design begins with listening, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the people who will live, work, and thrive in the environments we help our clients create. For more than 85 years, we've had the privilege of partnering with clients, residents, and industry leaders and we can't wait to connect with many of you at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, October 25 - 28.

Stop by Booth 1326 on Monday and Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to join our hands-on community-building activity and enter for a chance to win one of two LEGO gift cards!

You can also catch members of the SFCS team during two conference sessions:

📍 Sunday, October 25 | 1:00 p.m.
Carolyn Weaver joins Jennifer Bartscht and David Caudle for Tiny Home, Massive Lifestyle: Selling Studio Apartments.

📍 Wednesday, October 28 | 10:00 a.m.
Emily Jimerson, Tracey Jennings, Michael Matthews, and Tom Bowden present Acquiring and Repositioning to Meet Consumer Expectations.

If you'll be attending, we'd love to connect. Stop by Booth 1326 and say hello!

To learn more, visit us at: https://go.sfcs.com/fb-lana-2026

10/19/2026

How does resident happiness change over time?

During onsite interviews, residents rated their happiness on a scale of 1–10. Their responses were organized around how long they had lived there: 0–2 years, 3–5 years, or 6+ years.

When do you think the residents were happiest? Swipe to find out!

10/16/2026

The best projects are built together. Collaboration across the entire project team is essential to creating designs that are both cohesive and purposeful. 3D models establish a shared visual language, align decision making and explore ideas together to inspire the best solution.

Stop by Booth 1326 at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting to see our collaborative design process in action and help us build a LEGO community brick by brick! Plus, enter for a chance to win one of two LEGO gift cards!

Monday, October 26th, 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Tuesday, October 27th, 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM

10/15/2026

We're honored to be included among the nation's leading senior living architecture firms in Building Design+Construction Media's 2026 Giants 400 ranking, earning the #4 position on the Top 100 Senior Living Facility Architecture Firms list!

Our architects, planners, interior designers, and business operations teams bring a shared commitment to creating environments where older adults can thrive and where providers can deliver exceptional care. Thank you to our clients, partners, and team members whose trust, collaboration, and expertise make this recognition possible.

See the rankings here: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/giants-400/article/55409483/top-100-senior-living-facility-architecture-firms-for-2026

NORR, Perkins Eastman, HCM, SFCS, Arcadis North America, Stantec, Grace Design Studios, HKS, and Lawson Group Architects top Building Design+Construction's ranking of the nation...

10/14/2026

Some moments ask us to pay attention. Others ask us to act.

Today's senior living leaders are navigating a period of opportunity. The organizations that thrive will be the ones that transform insight into action, vision into strategy, and seize the opportunity to turn a moment into momentum. That's what we'll explore at By Design 2027.

Save the date and stay tuned. Registration opens soon!

📅 February 2 - 4, 2027
📍 Roanoke, VA

10/13/2026

The original goal for Carolina Village, Inc. was renewal. The outcome will be a transformation.

The project was initially focused on preparing five well-established residential buildings for their next chapter. As the team studied the buildings’ needs and tested potential solutions, an opportunity emerged to develop a more comprehensive, sustainable path forward for the community.

With an extensive waitlist and an open, sloping site nearby, it became clear that a new independent living offering would help create that path forward. Rather than limiting the design, the site’s approximately 14 feet of grade change helped organize the building, create a lower-level entrance and reduce its apparent scale.

By balancing unit count, parking and wellness programming while embracing the surrounding mountain views, the team shaped a new independent living destination that will create a second center of campus life and provide a future source of reinvestment for the legacy buildings and long-term campus renewal.

10/09/2026

Sometimes the biggest transformation begins with the willingness to see a familiar space in a new way.

At the 2026 LeadingAge Annual Meeting, Tiny Home, Massive Lifestyle: Selling Studio Apartments will explore how updated interiors, size-appropriate furnishings, and strategic positioning gave underused studio apartments new appeal.

Join Jennifer Bartscht, Carolyn Weaver, and David Caudle to see how fresh thinking can create new value within an existing footprint.

10/08/2026

Is your community’s master plan still aligned with where residents, operations, and the market are heading?

Today’s senior living leaders are making long-term capital decisions amid changing costs, staffing pressures, care models, and lifestyle expectations. In this recent article, SFCS Managing Principal Emily Jimerson shares a more adaptable approach to planning for what comes next.

Read the full perspective: https://efamagazine.com/trends/why-senior-living-communities-need-living-master-plans/167641/

Learn how flexible living master plans can help senior living communities adapt and grow to keep up with today's shifting landscape.

10/05/2026

What if wellness wasn’t a program, but the foundation of your community?

Active Aging Week reminds us that wellness is about more than a calendar of activities. It is shaped by the spaces residents move through, experiences that encourage participation, and the operational decisions that support daily life.

When design, operations, and programming work together, wellness can become part of the community’s culture and a source of long-term value.
How is your community making wellness part of everyday life?

Explore how an integrated approach can create a culture of wellness that endures:
https://go.sfcs.com/wellness-that-endures

Wellness is often discussed in terms of programming or amenities. However, lasting impact requires a true culture of wellness that is designed, committed to, and reinforced every day, as Colin Milner, the founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), presented at By Design in....

10/02/2026

Every great community starts with a partnership, but a shared vision cannot be built without understanding the people it will serve. Which is why listening first is essential at the start of any project.

The conversations that happen reveal the priorities that can transform campus repositioning from a standard initiative into a future-ready strategy that promotes holistic well-being and meets residents' evolving needs.

On Wednesday, October 28th at 10:00 a.m., the 2026 LeadingAge Annual Meeting session "Acquiring and Repositioning to Meet Consumer Expectations" will explore this in depth and uncover how these insights can inform acquisition, modernization, and sustainable planning. We hope you will join Tracey Jennings, Emily Jimerson, Michael Matthews, and Tom Bowden as they explain the organization's choices brick by brick.

LifeSpire of Virginia HJ Sims