GenSpace — a place to engage older adults — opens this month
In the dramatic new building fronting Wilshire and Harvard boulevards in what has become known as “Koreatown,” on the historic campus of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, there soon will be another opening and another resource for the community. The Annenberg Foundation will welcome the public to the new Wallis Annenberg GenSpace facilities beginning Mon., April 25. The innovative community space for older adults is the vision of philanthropist and founder Wallis Annenberg.
PROGRAMS AND CLASSES will be available to seniors in the new facilities created to reflect the vision of founder Wallis Annenberg.
GenSpace seeks to enrich and expand the lives of older adults through classes, partnerships, events and intergenerational opportunities.
“If I were alone in my home with absolutely no support system around me, GenSpace is exactly what I would like to find: a place where I could go and see other people in my age range, a place where I could make connections to the world,” said Wallis Annenberg, chairman, CEO and president of the Annenberg Foundation. “So many older people are prisoners of isolation and loneliness. GenSpace will provide the opposite of that feeling, because the opposite of loneliness is connection and engagement.”
GenSpace will serve as a pioneer resource for understanding and providing what diverse older populations want and need, center officials said.
Older people who participate in senior center activities have been proven to have higher levels of health, social interaction and life satisfaction when compared with their peers, according to studies. However, just 10 to 20 percent of older adults attend senior centers at least once a year.
By 2034, the United States is expected to enter a demographic shift where adults age 65-plus outnumber children in population — for the first time ever — according to the U.S. Census in 2018.
OUTDOOR AREAS are available for GenSpace users, including this third floor terrace at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion that also has stair (and elevator) access to a large roof garden.
“The U.S. population is aging. And a better, more inclusive future for us all depends on reframing the way we think about aging and creating spaces for older adults to thrive,” said Gen-Space Director Jennifer Wong, Ph.D. “More than ever before, this pandemic has highlighted the need for engaging, robust senior centers. Gen-Space’s programs and special offerings are based on extensive research findings from focus groups of diverse older adults, and are designed to meet the specific needs of our community. As Wallis’ vision inspires us, we look forward to hosting older Angelenos in the space and continuing to host older adults everywhere online.”
GenSpace is opening as part of the new Audrey Irmas Pavilion designed by Shohei Shigematsu and his colleagues at architecture firm OMA.
The GenSpace facility is the result of extensive collaboration with one of the country’s leading age-inclusive architects, Susi Stadler of her firm, Stadler &.
The space, as well as its furniture and amenities, is fully supportive of older adults. GenSpace programming includes horticultural therapy, a technology lending library and tech support classes, financial literacy classes, yoga and fitness workshops, opportunities to create storytelling and art, intergenerational programs, and more.
Information is available now online, and visitors will be received in person starting April 25. Get more information at: annenberggenspace.org.
FOR SENIORS is GenSpace, opening this month adjacent to Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
Category: Real Estate
