The Baldwin (Londonderry, NH)

& The Delaney at Vale (Woburn, MA)

Dynamic Senior Living Communities

Modern senior living communities are adapting to the needs and desires of a growing aging population. With many facilities embracing a community atmosphere, senior living facilities now offer a variety of amenities, including dining, retail, salons, fitness centers and pools, meeting and gathering space, performance areas, and other activity spaces. In an effort to help keep residents in their homes, many communities have also adopted an "aging in place" model, with different buildings, wings, or households providing varying degrees of independence or assistance. 

Two such communities in New Hampshire and Massachusetts are now nearing completion. The Baldwin is a new independent living and continuing care community in Londonderry, NH. Consisting of five interconnected buildings and below grade parking, The Baldwin provides residential apartments, a commons building with a variety of amenities, and two levels of assisted living households. 

The Delaney at Vale in Woburn, MA is now open for residents. The facility includes a variety of housing and amenity options, with two buildings offering independent living and a third offering assisted living and memory care. All three buildings are interconnected to allow for site-wide community engagement. 

AKF worked closely with architecture firm DiMella Shaffer to provide MEP / FP design, technology design, and code consulting services for both projects. AKF also provided energy modeling services for The Delaney. 

Check out the latest construction update for The Baldwin and view an interactive map of The Delaney to learn more about both of these exciting projects!

Gender Neutral Bathrooms & Accessibility



Single-user bathrooms have been used for several years to provide inclusive bathroom environments while maintaining privacy and security. Commonly signed as gender-neutral or all-gender, single-user bathrooms consist of one room containing all required fixtures (toilet, sink, shower, etc.), with the bathroom sized to meet the required accessibility clearances dictated by local and federal standards. 

In recent years, many projects are now also pursing the use of multi-user gender-neutral bathrooms. Such bathrooms typically consist of individual toilet stalls with full-height partitions and a shared sink area. Multi-user gender-neutral bathrooms often help stakeholders achieve their inclusivity goals, while still maintaining privacy between adjacent stalls. 

Historically, plumbing codes have not allowed the use of group gender-neutral bathrooms. However, the 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC) introduced a new exception to specifically allow a multi-stall gender neutral bathroom arrangement (2021 IPC 403.2 Exception 6). As many local jurisdictions move to adopt more recent editions of the IPC and / or include amendments to allow similar arrangements, multi-stall gender neutral bathrooms are expected to be incorporated into more projects. 

While there are many design considerations for group gender-neutral bathrooms, accessibility codes in particular should be reviewed carefully. Most notably, toilet stall partitions in group gender-neutral bathrooms typically do not include toe clearance due to the desire for privacy between stalls. Where toilet stall partitions extend to the floor such that toe clearance is not provided, accessible stalls must have a larger footprint to allow for better maneuverability within the stall. The required size of the enlarged stall depends on the adopted accessibility codes and whether the toilet is wall-hung or floor-mounted (see the ADA Standards and ICC / ANSI A117.1 for more details). 

Other considerations for group gender-neutral toilet rooms include fire protection and ventilation for individual stalls with full height partitions. Reach out to AKF's Code Consulting team for additional project-specific guidance. 

This year, AKF celebrates 35 years of optimizing spaces and powering human potential within the built environment! Since AKF's inception, we have grown from one location with four members to 400 members across 13 offices in the United States and Mexico. Our success is attributed to our dedicated leadership and talented staff, as well as partners like you! AKF's 35th Anniversary is a milestone that fills us with immense pride and appreciation for the people who have helped us reach this point. We are excited to continue this journey together, exploring new opportunities for shared success. Here's to the future!

Giving back to our communities inspires us. In the past month, AKF staff from various offices have come together to participate in events that support incredible organizations - a Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota and riding to defeat rare cancers with Cycle for Survival. We pledge to continue looking for meaningful ways to empower the people and places where we live and work.

Tracking Recent Changes to Building & Fire Codes

Connecticut:

2025 CT Building and Fire Codes expected fall of 2025 with a 3-month grace period.

Maine:

2021 ICC Codes under review. Anticipated adoption late spring.

Maryland: 

State has adopted 2021 ICC Codes, effective May 29, 2023. Local jurisdictions must implement and enforce the updated codes by May 29, 2024. 

Massachusetts:

MA Plumbing Code (248 CMR 10.00) updated December 8, 2023.

MA Building Code (10th Edition 780 CMR) to be based on 2021 ICC Codes. A draft is available at mass.gov. Anticipated adoption mid-to-late 2024.

Minnesota:

2024 MN Commercial Energy Code (ASHRAE 90.1-2019) effective January 5, 2024.

New Hampshire:

NH Building and Fire Codes expected to adopt the 2021 ICC Codes late spring 2024 with a 6-month concurrency period.

New York State: 

2024 NYS Uniform Codes anticipated late 2024 or early 2025 with a 6-month concurrency period.

North Carolina: 

2024 NC Building Codes anticipated January 1, 2025 based on the 2021 ICC Codes.

Rhode Island: 

2021 NFPA 1, 2021 NFPA 101, and 2022 NFPA 72 under review for upcoming adoption. No proposed effective date at this time. 

2024 IECC anticipated to be adopted mid-2024.

Vermont: 

2024 Building Energy Standards expected to become effective July 1, 2024. 2021 ICC Codes and NFPA 1 & 101 under review with potential adoption late summer 2024.

Virginia: 

2021 Uniform Statewide Building Code based on the 2021 ICC Codes became effective January 18, 2024.

AKF values continuous learning opportunities as they fuel our knowledge of industry trends and stimulate our creativity for providing the best engineering solutions for our projects. We look forward to connecting with clients and colleagues at the following conferences:

NEHES Spring Seminar:

Boston, MA - April 5

Tradeline Research Facilities:

Boston, MA - April 8-9

ASHE Region 6 Annual Conference:

Rochester, MN - April 10-12

Tradeline University Science & Engineering Facilities:

Boston, MA - April 11-12

Siemens NYC Annual Technology Education Forum & Expo:

New York, NY - Rory Creegan, panelist on "Leveraging IT/OT/MT Integrations in Smart Hospitals to Reduce Energy Usage and Operating Costs" - April 18

VSHE Annual Conference:

Norfolk, VA - Rory Creegan to present “Future-proofing Healthcare Design through Innovative Engineering Space Planning" - May 8

Lab Design Conference:

Phoenix, AZ - Mike Dooley & Brendan McGrath to present “Enhancing Lab Spaces: Exploring the Benefits of Monitoring-based Commissioning" - May 21

Stay tuned for upcoming events and speaking engagements; we are excited to connect with you!

Interested in hearing from our experts? Check out the AKF Out and About section above for upcoming events and conferences we'll be attending. You can also schedule a presentation for AIA or PDH credits from one of our experienced teams. Available presentations include:

• Critical Code Concepts for Healthcare Facilities

• Designing Dynamic Senior Living

• Sustainable and Healthy Lighting Design

• MA Stretch Energy Code

• 2021 IBC Changes with State Amendments

• 2022 CT State Building Code

• 2022 NYC Building Code

• Draft 10th Edition MA State Building Code

... and many more! To learn more about the upcoming changes to the 2021 International Building Code, read our overview. To set up a presentation to go over the changes and state amendments, please contact one of our Code Consulting experts!