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Presented by
Migette Kaup, PhD, EDAC, NCIDQ, ASID, IIDA
Professor, Kansas State University
SAGE POE Research Coordinator
Amy Carpenter, AIA, NCARB, LEEDap, EDAC
Partner, design4age Strategic Advisors
SAGE POE Team Leader
Special thanks to the sponsor of the 2026 SAGE Post-Occupancy Evaluation
Course Description
A multidisciplinary SAGE team conducted a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of LiveWell River Homes and Resilient Living Center, recipient of the 2025 EFA Design Showcase Award of Merit, to examine how clearly articulated design values of normalization, autonomy, and person-centered living are performing in daily practice. The POE integrated leadership interviews, resident and staff focus groups, environmental walkthroughs, and on-site observation to compare stated design goals with lived experience. This presentation highlights how LiveWell’s philosophy is translated into everyday life across two intentionally distinct environments. Examples illustrate how the River Homes function as true households, with residents and staff consistently describing a strong sense of “home,” meaningful independence, and social connection. Outside the households, the Resilient Living Center operates as a purposeful “destination,” offering prevention-focused programming, education, and community engagement that extends impact upstream of dementia progression. The presentation will also include critical lessons learned. These will include design choices that strongly favored residential authenticity and autonomy. By moving beyond “pretty pictures,” this session examines the tradeoffs inherent in bold, person-centered design and offers concrete insights into how environment, culture, programming, and risk tolerance interact in this dementia-supportive setting.
Learning Objectives
Learn about a highly innovative residential care setting for folks with early-stage cognitive decline.
Discover how LiveWell focuses on Ability rather than Disability–through both building design and programming–to create stronger personal connections, promote empathy and the feeling of family.
Understand how this community balances resident safety with reasonable, normalized risk; allowing residents freedom and choice as they move throughout the environment.
Explore the Resilient Living Center to discover how its physical environment and programming are improving health and slowing cognitive decline of residents who live on-campus, as well as those living in the greater community.