Century Lives

By 2030, every Baby Boomer will be over 65 or older. Many of these older adults will live alone and on limited incomes, and many will have mobility and other health challenges. This so-called “silver tsunami” is here to stay, and the math is ominous. The nation already has a housing shortage—and a senior-care shortage. On the plus side, many of these older folks will be healthier and more active, engaged, and tech-savvy than their peers in prior generations. But since their housing needs and desires will likewise be different from those of their predecessors, new questions and challenges will arise. On Century Lives: The Home Stretch, we explore signs of hope and inspiration in communities where housing innovations for older adults are already afoot.

Age segregation in housing is a relatively new phenomenon in human history. Until very recently, people aged with their families in intergenerational communities. Today, we visit two very different places: the age-restricted community Latitude Margaritaville in Florida and Gorham House in Maine, a retirement and assisted living facility built around the concept of different ages living together.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s.

In the final episode of this five-part series, Victoria Newhouse talks with visionary architect Rem Koolhaas, who has been shaping and disrupting architecture for his entire career. At age 80, he is the youngest of Victoria’s guests and remains a prolific writer and one of the world’s most influential architects with multiple new projects, including the expansion of NYC’s New Museum, opening Fall 2025.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s.

In this episode, Victoria Newhouse talks with 93-year-old architect, theorist and professor Peter Eisenman, who holds a place in architectural history as one of the New York Five, and the founder of Deconstructivism. He’s the recipient of the Gold Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. And he has made a lifelong commitment to teaching, serving on the faculty of Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cooper Union and Cambridge. He now teaches at Cornell University in Manhattan, where he plans to adapt his newest course on the genealogy of architecture as the subject of his 28th book.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s.

In this episode, Victoria Newhouse talks with 90-year-old Raj Rewal: one of the most distinguished Indian architects of all time. He is the architect of Delhi’s most important Modern buildings and with many masterpieces published in the History of World Architecture. His work, recently displayed at an exhibition of Post-Colonial architecture at MoMA, is displayed in the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Raj talks about his latest creative passion – miniature paintings and drawings inspired by historical Indian works of art.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s. 

In this episode, Victoria Newhouse talks with 87-year-old Israeli-Canadian-American architect Moshe Safdie, who remains unstoppable with new projects from Singapore to Bentonville, Arkansas. He’s the recipient of the Gold Medal, the highest honor, from both the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the American Institute of Architects. Moshe discusses his Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore, where expansion is about to begin on what’s become Singapore’s national landmark. The huge hotel’s three towers include a casino, a conference center, a shopping mall, an art museum, and a spectacular rooftop infinity pool that overlooks the scenic bay.