Douglas Care Pavilion, Wasserman Campus

Harry's Haven is a nationally recognized Alzheimer's facility and program on the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s (MPTF) 48-acre Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills (CA), originally established by Anne and Kirk Douglas in 1992. In 2015 the Douglas’s gifted $15 million to MPTF to refresh the facility and bring it into greater alignment with current Alzheimer and dementia-condition patient care practices.

Circulation in the existing building consisted of a disorganized collection of wings and corridors. Zakian Woo Architects’ new design provides critical improvements to in its interior and elevates the building to match the program’s stature on campus. A new, formal entrance enhances the exterior to create sense of arrival, and includes a light-filled atrium for people to sit in a pleasant setting before entering.

The program’s 30-bed Skilled Nursing Facility will be reconfigured with a central core and the relocation of the nurses’ station to achieve unobstructed visibility. The building’s four wings were transformed into Neighborhoods with Live Walls for critical familiarity for residents. Each bed has a floor-to-ceiling alcove with an operable window, sleeper seat, and direct view to the outside.

The ambitious program also includes reception, daycare outpatient quarters, a recreation room, interior and exterior activity spaces, a dining/multipurpose room and four new exterior courtyards.