“A design competition with a difference.” That’s how this magazine got its start 20 years ago. Design ’97, as it was called, was launched by the former Nursing Homes magazine in partnership with SAGE (Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments) to recognize senior living environments that were themselves making a difference.

The magazine compiled the results of that competition, juried by members of SAGE. As founding editor Richard L. Peck shared with me recently, it was an idea that had percolated over time. Nursing Homes published its first design-related article in June 1991, a profile of a new memory care center designed by industry icon Margaret Calkins (today executive director of The Mayer-Rothschild Foundation), which was complemented by a few other design stories. And, from there, an annual tradition was born. Each year in June, Nursing Homes would publish a design issue. And then in 1997, Peck turned to Calkins, an officer of SAGE, to help launch Design and that first design competition.

“[SAGE] set the standards of judgment, focusing particularly on resident-centered design and the neighborhood concept just coming into vogue. Every move away from the extremely dated mini-hospital approach to nursing home design was applauded, and the creation of the newly established assisted living environment was welcomed. SAGE judges also established the tradition, from Design ‘97 onwards, of never being satisfied with the pace of innovation in the field,” Peck says.

Much has happened since that time. The magazine changed ownership twice and names once—officially becoming Environments for Aging in 2012. The design competition still exists today as the EFA Design Showcase, published every spring (and managed since 1998 by Special Projects Director Donna Paglia). The jury is now appointed by additional partner organizations, including SAGE, The Center for Health Design, the International Interior Design Association, and the American Society of Interior Designers. From this, we’ve partnered with SAGE to launch the annual Remodel/Renovation Competition, as well (see page 52).


Peck retired in 2009, and several editors have taken the helm of EFA since. The content of our magazine has evolved, too—beginning primarily as competition coverage and today delivering insight and inspiration tied to all aspects of the senior living design industry. We’re now published three times a year in print, with additional news stories and articles posted regularly at efamagazine.com. We also now have the annual EFA Expo & Conference, where industry members gather each year (April 21-24, 2018, Savannah, Ga.).

But one thing hasn’t changed since 1997: Our mission is to encourage and celebrate the advancement of innovative and effective senior living environments that support residents and staff in person-centered, cost-effective spaces. And delivering those spaces has remained your mission.

To celebrate how far we’ve all come, we put together a special 20th anniversary section that will be posted here at efamagazine.com and can be found in the Fall 2017 print issue that includes a retrospective piece based on the insight shared by members of our impressive new Editorial Advisory Board, a timeline detailing award-winning projects over the past two decades, and an inside look from Perkins Eastman on the project that won Best in Show in that very first issue of Design.

I hope you enjoy it. We’re excited to cover the ways our readers will surely continue to transform senior living over the next 20 years.