THE SAMARKAND
environmental
Covenant Retirement Communities is a nationwide network of 14 senior living communities in eight states. Bodnar Design worked with the CRC's Samarkand campus in Santa Barbara, California, designing its "Retrospect History Gallery" (see below) which celebrates the history of this significant property. BDC also designed a complete signage package for their newest building, The LifeCenter, as well as monument and wayfinding signs for the campus.
The LifeCenter's interior signage program was developed to feel old-world, yet modern, featuring custom iron details, inset Spanish tiles, and digital menus for its Mountain View Cafe.
The Samarkand’s exterior signage aesthetics were intended to complement the community's Spanish Mission-style architecture, and involved planning, placement, design, and collaboration with the client’s landscape architects for architectural coherence and city approvals.
THE RETROSPECT HISTORY GALLERY
The "Retrospect History Gallery" conveys the story of the Samarkand property, first established in 1917 as a Montessori school, through its transformation into one of the country's most famous luxury hotels, before "finding its true purpose" as a thriving Covenant Retirement Community. Bodnar Design was responsible for all research, story development, space design and graphic displays.
