LJA acquires architecture firm WAI Continuum

BY LISA GIBSON

With the acquisition of St. Paul-based architecture firm WAI Continuum, Fargo-based LJA will be able to pair its architecture and engineering expertise in the hospitality sector with the talent and experience WAI brings from the senior living sector. The hospitality and senior living industries have multiple similarities and are evolving in the same ways, says Troy Tooz, executive vice president and principal civil engineer at LJA, making the acquisition a perfect fit. “It’s really a mutually beneficial relationship,” he says.

Both firms are experienced in multi-unit dwellings and are based in the Midwest but serve the entire U.S. and Canada, Tooz says. Senior care center facilities are changing much like hotels are, creating somewhat of a community under one roof, which can include restaurants, pubs, attractive common areas and more, says Dave Wolterstorff, principal founder of WAI Continuum. Kya Schroeder, vice president and architect at LJA, says hotels are no longer just a place to stay, but now have target audiences such as business travelers, families, vacationers and seasonal attractions. They’re geared toward being a memorable highlight and overall huge part of the trip, she says.

Those amenities for target audiences also come into play in senior living centers. In memory care centers, Alzheimer’s needs are pretty poignant, Wolterstorff says. Those patients are prone to wander, forgetting to sit and rest, or forgetting to put on a coat before turning down a corridor that takes them outside. Wolterstorff says WAI incorporates reminders into its facility designs that activate senses such as sight or smell to trigger necessary behaviors. For example, the scent of apples could remind patients they’re about to walk outdoors, or a bench in a corridor could prompt a wandering patient to sit and rest, avoiding injuries. “They get tired,” Wolterstorff says. “Falls and injuries happen. So we’ve tried to incorporate points of interest designed to help people know where they are.”

The new team is working together on the Mount Olivet care facility in Minneapolis, a $25 million addition to the Mount Olivet church, says Todd Jelinski, architectural department head and architect at LJA. That center has a massive urban garden on the roof, Wolterstorff adds.

With the acquisition of WAI, LJA now has a St. Paul office. The acquisition does not affect any jobs, but simply merges the two companies’ talents, Tooz says, leading LJA down a “new pathway.”

PB

Lisa Gibson Editor, Prairie Business 701.787.6753