In Farmington Hills, Michigan, the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness and the dedicated group of volunteers, supporters, donors, designers, and organization behind it are changing the narrative for those living with Parkinson’s disease. The Center, which transformed an existing facility within an office park into a 32,000-square-foot, world-class facility with activity-based programs accessible for people living with Parkinson’s free-of-charge, is far more than just a building with a new design and great programs, but rather a place where people can gather to meet and move in community. For the Kirk Gibson Foundation, it is about delivering the first-of-its-kind facility in Michigan. It fills a major gap that remains in the Parkinson’s community where people living with the disease, their family, and their caregivers can learn more about the benefits of exercise and movement as a part of their holistic treatment plan—and find hope and inspiration in the everyday.
“The opening of this Parkinson’s Center is more than just a building, it’s a center of hope and provides a sense of community for everyone in the battle with Parkinson’s,” said Kirk Gibson, Founder of the Kirk Gibson Foundation and Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness. “This has been part of my mission, and I am honored to be able to open the doors and welcome everyone to our center where they can empower each other in a place filled with comfort and support.”
Located at 31440 Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills, the Center is intentionally built within a 30-minute driving radius from 70 percent of the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, according to the opening press release, placing it within reach to an estimated 8,000 people living with Parkinson’s in Metro Detroit. The Center, which is the state’s only standalone wellness center designed to meet those living with Parkinson’s where they are, providing programs on movement and cognition where insurance is not required—is anticipated to welcome up to 70,000 visits annually and since its official opening in 2025 has received nearly 900 registrants, with more than 300 members onboard and over 200 actively participating in class by October 2025.
It is a destination made possible by distinctive partnerships and generous donors, envisioned by Kirk Gibson—the former professional baseball player and manager who spent time with the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates—as a place where members have access to educational and programmatic resources, and more importantly somewhere for people to build a culture and community of their own.
In 1996, Gibson established the Foundation to provide college scholarships for both athletes and non-athletes alike at the Detroit-area Waterford Kettering and Clarkston High Schools. When Gibson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, the Foundation expanded its mission to improve the quality of life for those living with the disease, raising more than $3 million toward research grants and programs since then. His vision, however, is to provide inspiration and hope, namely through the development and delivery of activity-based programs, and also raise awareness and understanding about the disease and how early diagnosis and treatment can help maintain an active and enjoyable lifestyle.
The Foundation partnered with InMotion, or IM, a Cleveland-based leader in evidence-based movement programs, and the Michigan Parkinson Foundation to help create its core educational programming—and to see its vision of a dynamic, accessible, and navigable Center come to life, looked to the Detroit-based team of the global architecture, design, and planning firm, Gensler. Lily Diego, Design Director at Gensler Detroit, said it was brought to the team’s attention through William Hartman, FAIA Emeritus, who had been approached by the board at the Foundation to gauge the firm’s interest in participating as a design partner. Diego noted after speaking with Michael Shur, Global Wellness Practice Area Leader based in Gensler’s Chicago office, in terms of the opportunity to be involved in helping create a facility that had the potential for such a big impact on the community in Michigan, the firm was on board in any capacity the Foundation needed them to be.
“[The Foundation] wanted to create a first-of-its-kind, standalone facility in Michigan, where programs are free-of-charge and no insurance is required to support the community. It was an endeavor where they were not exactly sure how it could work or what it would actually look like to rely on partners within the design, wellness, and Parkinson’s community to help them find solutions and co-author the space,” Diego said.
“Luckily, they trusted us and had confidence in the work we’ve done throughout the region with the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago; Oscar Mike Sports & Training Center in Rockford, Illinois; and OhioHealth Neuroscience Wellness Center in Columbus. They saw how each of those projects were very unique, curated solutions for a specific need, and that we would do the same for them at the Kirk Gibson Center. It was really great that we were able to find that partnership and go on this journey together,” Diego added.
The Center is devoted to exercise and movement-based programs, lifestyle classes, counseling services, and social connection, which informed how the design team would take the existing facility in an office park and transform it into an activity-based environment that supported those living with Parkinson’s, their loved ones, and care partners. The creation of that core programming was critical to how the space itself would unfold, look, and feel—which was then shaped by Gensler’s eight guiding principles: Encourage, Empower, Educate, Enrich, Expand, Engage, Embrace, and Energize.
“Having conversations with Kirk, who has been such a pioneer in trying to understand what activity-based programs look like for supporting the health and wellness of those afflicted with Parkinson’s, was huge. He’s going through it right now and he’s trying to find additional alternative ways to handle his condition and all these conversations about how we can really focus on the whole health around these programs was so beneficial,” Diego said.
“They partnered with IM, a company doing very similar types of activity-based programs, and we looked at the diversity of activities—anything from a typical fitness gym to things that are operational and translational in terms of similar art classes and cooking classes, gaming and music—so it was truly comprehensive in terms of cognitive and physical health. We looked at their metrics and programs and used that information as background to address how members are going to be supported in this space and, ‘How are programs going to be placed in a way that is most successful to help promote and motivate this type of endeavor?’” Diego added.
With “Movement Matters” at its core, the Center provides an integrated, holistic system of wellness programs curated in close partnership with IM, leveraging its InMotion Approach™. The barrier-free interior includes an overhead, 360-degree track and a gym for strength and cardio, a boxing zone and various rooms dedicated for yoga, tai chi, Pilates, and dance. There are also general fitness areas, a multi-purpose gym, classrooms for fall and kitchen safety, nutrition, and wellness; private counseling spaces; dedicated rooms for speech, music, and art therapies; a community lounge; and supporting amenities such as inclusive-designed changing rooms and storage. Educational resources will also be offered in partnership with Michigan Parkinson Foundation, such as with the (PD)101 classes, wellness workshops, book clubs, programs for those with late-stage Parkinson’s, and support groups for those with Parkinson’s and care partners.
“It was a village of people who were going through this. It was IM, it was Kirk and the board, it was designers and wellness practice leaders who were trying to understand, ‘What are our lessons learned, what are those successful adjacencies that we have noticed, what are some things that we can bring to the table that we know will have impact and that will help give us a framework that we know is a strong foundation to test how these activities work, but then also gives the opportunity to evolve?’” Diego said. “It was a lot of cooperative and collaborative dialogue with individuals who have a diversity of ideas and thought in and within the Parkinson’s and wellness industries, which was phenomenal.”
Diego noted the most important design element for the Center, which was expressed by both Kirk and the Foundation Board, was that the facility had a very strong central organizing element, in which people felt welcomed and there was an immediate sense of transparency and connection as they moved into the space. They wanted to have a literal and figurative “heart of the building, a central area that was the most motivating, the most aspirational,” that served as a nucleus with the energy of connecting and collecting people in community.
“It is almost like a hub and spoke, and the central space is where all the different programs of activity offshoot from. When you are sitting in the social gathering area, you can look directly into the spin room, you can see the game room that has the ping pong tables, and you can see where they have boxing and pneumatic weight resistance machines. Kirk and his team really believe in the power of motivation and aspiration. Being able to see others do the things that you might not feel capable of doing but then are inspired and motivated by others to be invited or empowered to do that, stems from this central gathering space,” Diego said.
“It was very thoughtful how that central nexus layout came about. It was one of the reasons they were really attracted to this building as well, because it just naturally happened in that space. It’s a double-height space at the center of the walking track, so it’s a magnet for everything. From there, everything seemed to work out really well. It was kind of the nuances and the details after really nailing down what that center space looks like and what adjacencies it can then have around that center,” Diego added.
In its previous life, the existing facility served as a fitness gym for an organization in the office park, and though at first proved a daunting task for it to not feel like an office building, there were a lot of great structural bones that lent itself well for its next chapter. Diego said the walking track was already there, the double-height spaces were already there, one of the gyms was already there, which meant the design team could really focus on the interior build out and allocate funds in the places that would really need it to support its new member community.
“In the entire space, we only took down one wall, and what an impact taking down this one wall had. It was all about the connectivity and visibility and that one wall was the wall between the social space and the Keiser equipment and the game room. It had a glass front already, which was huge,” Diego said. “We did update it a lot, and there were certain things that we wanted to ensure were there for full inclusive types of design, but we were so thankful to be able to thoughtfully put dollars into other spaces.”
Those other spaces extended to the thoughtful application of lighting levels throughout the facility, and ensuring adjacencies were accessible for all those visiting and using the Center. It was about being more than just cognizant of what is foundational to those living with disabilities, really trying to be inclusive about a diversity of conditions and looking at the materials that would help promote ease of mobility like with carpet and flooring transitions or the diversity of furniture and seating heights to aide in the sitting or standing motion.
“Sometimes it is easier for individuals to lean on a stool versus sit all the way down, and then even if you sit all the way down, there are the comforts of having something to push off the arms or having a built-in ledge next to a bench that allows you to push up easily from the seat,” Diego said. “There is just a lot more structure to the furniture and weight to give confidence that the furniture is not going to slip away.”
There was also a lot of consideration given to the color and pattern, thoughtful to avoid patterns or colors that might be triggering, or those that might induce a sensation of motion or peripheral disruption. The team was also intentional about creating an environment that was not institutional, neither hospital nor gym, but rather had a safe, comfortable, and activating wellness ambiance.
“We really leaned into those ideas of nature and colors that were fun and lively, so a lot of color theory around natural tones and natural elements as well as the hues of activated spaces that aren’t too primary, but still very uplifting. It’s a very colorful space, but it isn’t aggressive or overstimulating,” Diego said.
For Diego, who noted this project is about so much more than just a center for people living with Parkinson’s, its significance is best highlighted in the anecdote she shared when the team was conducting a photoshoot of the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness. She noted Kirk and his son Cam and volunteers were invited to join, since the design team loves to see the spaces activated by those who use it. The beautiful thing about it was there were a handful of volunteers who had shown up and throughout the course of the event, shared their stories with her—like the one individual who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and was thankful the Center was within miles of their residence because it changed their entire outlook on life.
“She said having the space to go every day, to even understand what she could do, what her family needs, how she can be supported, was a game changer. And I was like, this is phenomenal. That’s the impact the space has, because she said, ‘This is something I didn’t even know I needed. When you get your diagnosis, you think, I’ll go to the hospitals or go through the clinics, and we’ll do what they tell us, but you don’t realize that there is a community there, that there is a space there that can support you in a variety of different ways that is more than just getting therapy,’” Diego said.
“I think no matter what project we do, this is why we do what we do. We want to ensure these spaces have an impact, that we are doing right by those who get to use the space,” Diego added.
First published in Great Lakes By Design: Architectonics, Volume 9, Issue 6
Text: R.J. Weick