Handel Architects found an elevated approach to completing the Inspir Carnegie Hill Senior Living in New York City, New York.

Inspir Carnegie Hill is a luxury high-rise residential assisted living building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, designed as a flagship property for Maplewood Senior Living’s new brand. The project includes 215 units and approximately 40,000 SF of amenity space bridging between indoors and out. Design decisions were approached with the goal of providing Inspir residents with meaningful connections to nature, to the outdoors, to the city, and to their building’s community – essential values in life as we age and meant to infuse positivity and invigorate the spirit.

Inspir was designed with a simple elegance and order that acts as a framework for allowing the outdoors inside. Climbing vines and gardens are integral to the façade creating a filter between inside and out and extend from the entrance canopy to the top of the building. It was the intent that residents of the building would become stewards of the building’s gardens, and through a partnership with Rusk Rehabilitation’s Horticultural Therapy Program at NYU Langone Health, the memory care residents have access to horticulture therapy in order to further reduce stress and improve cognitive function.

The interiors provide a balanced backdrop to nature that is simple and modern in form, yet luxurious with hand-crafted details and furnishings. Building on the connections between inside and out, each space is layered with materials that provide a warm compliment to the building exterior’s concrete structure. Accent walls of bright, naturally colored stones act as wayfinding landmarks for residents with impaired vision. Intimate spaces for dining, leisure, and activity are defined by texture and detail using custom-made light fixtures, timeless hand-crafted furniture dimensioned specifically for seniors promoting mobility, and curated artwork.

Looking out onto the activity of 2nd Avenue, the two-story lobby is flanked by reception and lobby cafe areas with green and yellow onyx stone walls and hand-blown glass light fixtures. The serene space sets the tone for the interior material expression: a calm, neutral palette of ivory Roman travertine floors, white oak wood paneling and white marble is accented with colors found in nature. A series of slatted oak wood and glass screen walls separate the lobby cafe and dining rooms, energized by two-story gardens interconnecting the amenity floors and the indoors with the outside.

At the center of the building is the Skypark; a multipurpose winter garden that connects the inside to an expansive outdoor terrace with fragrant gardens and views of the city. The space includes a copper clad bar and private function and living room spaces for residents, families and caregivers to gather; a one of a kind space in keeping with the Inspir brand of connecting people with the outdoors.

Residents’ units are designed to maximize natural light with floor-to-ceiling windows, easy to operate crank window hardware, window shades and sheer drapes allowing residents the ability to control their own light and fresh air. Unit accommodations also include elegant finishes customized for residents’ every need including built-in kitchenettes, wardrobes and display niches, marble bathrooms and natural wood floors.

Design: Handel Architects
Photography: Evan Joseph