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founders

Changing Attitudes On Ageing —
Jan Garde

Founder Jan Garde explains the thinking behind THE EMBASSIES and why forced bingo nights are not part of it

Older age is ­­­­­­­­viewed as a period to be endured rather than enjoyed. A retreat from life, rather than the freedom to live life to the fullest. But getting older doesn’t mean we suddenly stop being the person we’ve always been. We don’t stop being curious, wanting new experiences and striving to enjoy life to the best of our ability. THE EMBASSIES founder Jan Garde is on a mission to change our attitude towards ageing and make our older years just as fruitful and fulfilling as those that came before – we hear why.

The two biggest fears people have in later life are being lonely and becoming a burden. But if you walk into a ‘classic’ retirement home, that’s exactly what you get: loneliness and illness. I’ll never forget the smell of disinfectant and must, nor the stark and cold design of the retirement home my grandparents moved into when I was little. Years later, I recognised that same scent and look when I started conducting research on these facilities. If loneliness kills more people than drinking, smoking and drunk driving combined, why are we building to perpetuate it?

Growing up, I was very close to my grandparents. They were the ones to show me how getting older could be a positive thing. Life lessons were passed down in stories, experiences shared over dinner. They had this wealth of information and vivacity I am forever grateful for. So, when I saw them move into a retirement home, it felt incredibly wrong. As I got older, I decided I had to change this attitude that growing older meant life was coming to an end. People don’t want to suddenly stop living once they hit a certain age. They want to continue experiencing, communing and sharing. Knowing that we all will hopefully enter this stage of life became my biggest motivator. I wanted to do this for my kids, my wife, my extended family and myself. For all of us.

I have a background in design and customer experience, so addressing the problem from a human perspective felt like the natural and right thing to do. At THE EMBASSIES, we don’t want to segment across age demographics but unite people through shared values and beliefs. Our spaces actively encourage the communal exchange of learning between generations. By that I don’t mean forced bingo nights. I mean two people meeting by chance and having a conversation over drinks that leads to dinner and the spark of an idea. Oh, and neither of them asked the other about their age. It’s that type of atmosphere I’m most looking forward to.

A lot of people are saying, THE EMBASSIES is ‘disrupting senior living’. That’s patently not true. We’re giving a concept new meaning by redesigning it to focus on the individual as a person rather than a number. It’s not an age thing, it’s a people thing. And ultimately, the individual is what it all comes down to, from services to design to marketing to life. At THE EMBASSIES, we’re encouraging people to keep exploring and doing more of what excites and interests them. We want them to keep looking forward to tomorrow. That’s our mission, and if we can make a lasting impact with this new mindset, we’ve succeeded.

Really THE EMBASSIES is no single service or product. It’s a way of life and each location – regardless of where in the world – should manifest that mindset and expand it beyond its walls by becoming fixtures in the community. Having said that, I acknowledge that this kind of living isn’t for everyone. Nor should it be! I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, and I hope that THE EMBASSIES inspires other industries to elevate their respective concepts in a similar manner.