Breaking news coming down the pipeline this afternoon: a supergroup of architects is taking strategies for community living beyond the think tank, and putting words into action in the California desert. Their concept? BOOM, a socially progressive township unlike any we’ve ever seen.

Good design means perfecting an idea that should be a no-brainer — something so useful, relevant, and logical that is should have been invented long ago. And such is the case with BOOM. The philosophy behind the development began with a notion of pioneering a space for gay retirees, an audience seeking a diverse and multi-generational community. That seed has sprouted into an encompassing residence for all ages with a mission of  ”inclusion, not seclusion; about living, not retiring.”

Click through to see renderings from all ten architecture firms working on BOOM:

The community plaza that will form the central nervous system of the BOOM development near Palm Springs, California.

The project is the $250 million love child of BOOM Communities, Inc., a Los Angeles-based real estate investment company, in conjunction with project leader Matthias Hollwich of New York firm HWKN. (Hollwich is also the mastermind behind the New Aging initiative and — full disclosure! — a co-founder of Architizer.)

BOOM will break ground in 2012 starting with 300 residences built in eight neighborhoods, each designed by a different firm. The masterplan is under the purview of HWKN with landscape design by Surfacedesign, inc. Phase 2 of the project will add another 300 residences.  The social and geographic center of the development, shown above in rendering, will include an entertainment complex, a boutique hotel, a gym and spa, and a wellness center dedicated to the growing health needs of every generation represented onsite.

The BOOM concept extends to the online world as well with www.boomforlife.com, designed by renowned Bruce Mau Design in Toronto, who also developed the BOOM brand and graphic identity. The web portal uses social media to encourage participation from the virtual community in addition to the one built from bricks and mortar.

Without further ado:

J. MAYER H. Architects (Berlin, Germany)

Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York City)

Hollwich Kushner / HWKN (New York City)

Joel Sanders Architect (New York City)

L2 Tsionov-Vitkon (Tel Aviv, Israel)

LOT-EK (Naples, Italy and New York City)

Rudin Donner Design (West Hollywood, California)

SADAR + VUGA (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Arakawa + Gins (New York City)

Surfacedesign, Inc. (San Francisco, California)

Aerial view of BOOM in Rancho Mirage, California.

For more details and updates — not to mention enormous images — check the BOOM project page on Architizer.

by Kelsey Keith

posted in New Projects

tagged aging, Arakawa + Gins, BOOM, breaking news, bruce mau design, diller + scofidio renfro, Exclusive, HWKN, inc., j. mayer h. architects, Joel Sanders Architect, L2 Tsionov-Vitkon, lot-ek, matthias hollwich, New Projects, palm springs, retirement community, Rudin Donner Design, SADAR + VUGA, Surfacedesign

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