Smarter Community Renovations: How Technology Is Connecting Design, Procurement, and Operations

As dining venues continue to evolve into vital hubs for social connection and community identity, design teams face the dual challenge of delivering appealing environments and high-end aesthetics alongside rigorous operational efficiency. Join a panel of industry experts and winners from EFA’s annual Dining Competition as they dive into recent award-winning projects, share valuable lessons learned, and offer a forward-looking perspective on the trends shaping the next generation of senior living dining experiences.  

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If you’ve never attended EFA or are new to senior living, this casual, hosted meet-up during the welcome reception is your place to start!  

Join fellow first-timers, career-changers, and emerging professionals for relaxed conversation and easy introductions designed to help you find your people. Members of the editorial board, the EFA event team, and seasoned attendees will also be on hand to share insights, answer questions, and help make connections. 

Come as you are, stay as long as you like, and leave with a few friendly faces to explore the show with!  

All badge types are welcome.

This session will review the Award of Merit and Honorable Mention winning projects from the 2026 EFA Design Showcase. A small panel will be made up of one team member representing each award-winning project, in addition to one member of the jury. The session moderator will introduce panel members, the submission and review process, and the winning projects. Panelists will describe each of the projects, indicating how the project achieved excellence across the competition’s four metrics: Innovation, Collaboration, Quality of Life, and Operations. The juror panelists will also discuss industry and design trends noted in this year's submissions, focusing on those that represent important ideas for the design community to incorporate into future environments. This presentation will be valuable to those operating and designing older adult environments as well as those considering entering a project into future EFA Design Showcase programs.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about design attributes, challenges overcome, and solutions employed to create award-winning environments for aging.
• Understand innovative industry and design trends that represent important concepts to incorporate into future environments.
• Learn how senior housing providers are positively impacting residents' quality of life and the experiences of staff and family.
• Gain valuable insights into the design award submission, review, and award process.

 All badge types are welcome