ASSISTANT PROFESSOR WILLA GRANGER’S LATEST RESEARCH ON THE EVOLUTION OF NURSING HOME ARCHITECTURE FEATURED IN THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

We’re thrilled to share that Assistant Professor Willa Granger has just published her article, “Consuming Care: The Americana Corporation and the Advent of the Modern Nursing Home,” in the September 2025 issue of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH).

In this groundbreaking research, Willa traces how nursing home architecture transformed from small, adaptive-reuse facilities into the medicalized designs we recognize today. Her work follows the history of “The Americana,” a nursing home business that spanned from urban Chicago to rural Illinois, uncovering the cultural and architectural forces that shaped this shift.

The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians is one of the leading publications in the field, making this a significant accomplishment. This project was supported by a Tyson Scholarship at the Crystal Bridges Museum.

Read the full article here:
Consuming Care: The Americana Corporation and the Advent of the Modern Nursing Home
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
September 2025, Volume 84, Issue 3