US-based hotel and resort design company WATG has unveiled its new 'Facility of the Future' interior design guidelines and standards for Golden Living - an award-winning care home concept - in response to an emerging senior population with a desire for high-quality, wellness-focused recovery environments.

The facilities will emphasise short-term recovery care and promote an active lifestyle.

Accommodation will be modelled on hotels and spas, with a focus on personal space, wellness and rehab.

"No-one wants an extended hospital stay," said WATG senior designer Meagan Jacobi. "The 'Facility of the Future' allows you to check into a 'spa resort' that's already considered your rehab needs without forgetting about all the details that make a spa resort a place we want to be: a place to heal, to strengthen and to rejuvenate the spirit."

In addition to skilled nursing, an Aegis facility will offer physical therapy and wellness treatments to both in-house patients and the local community.

While best known for resort design, this is not WATG's first foray into wellness.

The firm was the design architect for the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon, and the Four Seasons Westlake Village in California - a hotel and resort designed exclusively to teach people how to live better, healthier lives (see Spa Business 08/4, p46).