Shady Lane Senior Living

CASE STUDY - VIRTUAL REALITY

SHADY LANE SENIOR LIVING

DESIGN DECISIONS MADE EASY

Shady Lane Nursing Care Center’s aging buildings experienced numerous Manitowoc, Wisconsin
changes to the physical environments over the past few decades. Looking
to further their mission of providing community-based affordable care for Phase 1: 34,500 sq ft
older adults, Shady Lane turned to Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA). Phase 2: 68,000 sq ft (proposed)

Early into the design process, EUA implemented the use of virtual reality • Community based
(VR) software to help with articulating different spaces. The decision for early residential facility
implementation was important for this project as it allowed EUA to share
the design intent for the various spaces throughout the campus with Shady • Rehabilitative care
Lane’s staff in a way that is often regarded as more easily understandable than apartment complex
a 2D drawing. Using VR helped their staff to virtually step into various spaces
to aide in giving them a better understanding of what various aspects such as • Assisted living facility
ceiling heights and room depths would actually feel like once in the spaces. • Skilled nursing facility
• Spa / salon
• Private dining
• Lobby
• Household living rooms
• Secured resident courtyard

KEEPING TO A TIMELINE + BUDGET

By using VR throughout the design process, EUA was able to save Shady Lane time and money which helped to keep
this project on schedule and within the budget. Through VR’s ability to immerse the wearer into a 3D space, EUA
did not need to spend extra time on reworks when building the to-scale physical mock-ups of the different resident
room design options for Shady Lane’s staff to experience and make decisions on. In using VR, EUA was able to create
multiple options to begin with helping them to narrow down their favorites and also allow EUA perform quick and
subtle changes to the designs being viewed before starting on the full-scale mock-ups. This helped to make decisions
faster on what they preferred from the multiple design options presented virtually over being compared to the time and
effort needed to create several physical mock-ups as well as the constant altering of the spaces.

UNDERSTANDING THE SPACES Left: A capture of a view using VR for the lobby and front entrance area
Right: Photo of the completed lobby and front entrance area

Incorporating the use of VR into the design decisions allowed Shady Lane’s staff to feel as though they were stepping

into their spaces with the goggles. Having the ability to jump to different spots throughout the designs helped the staff

to get a better feel of the spaces making them more confident about their choices on the design options for many of the

major spaces during the project.

A resident room viewed through VR to decide on outlet and light DESIGN COMPONENTS BETTER
switch positions throughout the room. UNDERSTOOD THROUGH THE USE OF VR:

• Scale of major spaces

• Furniture + receptacle placement

• Lighting locations

• Window sizes + placement

• Casework amounts + heights

• Bathroom layouts for water closet
+ shower access; shower control,
medicine cabinet + towel bar positions;
lighting + storage options

milwaukee : madison : des moines : denver eua.com