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Universal
Design
Living in Style
by Kevin Bjorklund
In the spring of 1966 my life as I then knew it ended,
and a new style of living began. I was riding with my two older brothers
on one of the family tractors. During the ride, I somehow slipped through
my brothers hands and fell beside the large rear wheel. Before the tractor
could be stopped, it had rolled over the side of my head, fracturing my
skull. I was rushed to the local hospital with multiple abrasions and skull
fractures, yet had full use of my extremities. Three days later I stopped
moving my legs. Today, I am a very much alive, active 44-year-old man,
who tries to live each day with gratitude and energy as a T4 paraplegic.
Since that day in 1966, I have spent most of my life
in home environments that were at best marginally functional for
my varied needs. None of them had the overall beauty and style I
longed for. I have never believed that accessibility had to be “institutional,” yet that
was mostly my experience. I longed for something completely different—a
home that was not only functional to meet my needs but also beautiful,
inviting and stylish. With that passion in mind, I set out to create
a home that would fulfill those dreams. In June of 2005, I found
a lot, got hooked up with a custom builder, and thus began a new
journey.
During the process of building the home, it became
apparent we all had much to learn. We spent hour after hour touring
homes, researching accessibility and accessible designs, and meeting
with our builder. One day we had the opportunity to visit a brand
new custom “accessible” home.
As such homes are almost impossible to come by, I was excited to
see what they had come up with. Upon arrival, I began to wonder if
I had the wrong address; there were multiple steps at both the front
entrance and garage entrance. There was a very long, steep ramp at
the back of the garage that allowed a wheelchair user access to the
home. Once inside, there were no accessible accommodations, other
than an elevator in the home which allowed access to the lower level.
This was not what I had in mind.
Later that day I had many different emotions as I reflected on our
visit; one of the strongest was my feeling of sadness for the buyer
who got much less than he deserved. I tell this story not to find
fault or blame, but to point out the real reason for this unfortunate
design—the
lack of knowledge of what’s possible by both the buyer and
the builder. This experience motivated me to continue my research
and ultimately led me to the discovery of an exciting concept of
design, called Universal Design.
Universal Design vs. Accessible Design
Universal Design (UD), simply put, is a philosophy
that yields products and environments that can be directly used
by people with a wide range of abilities. Its focus is not on individuals
with disabilities.
By contrast, the concept of
accessible design dates back to World War II, when injured veterans
modified their homes to adapt to disabilities, says Richard Duncan,
director of Universal Design Training at the Center for Universal
Design at North Carolina State University. Accessible design is specific
to individuals with disabilities; it follows a set of distinct rules
and regulations. While UD has suggested guidelines, there are no
mandated rules or regulations —the final design
is up to the creative abilities of the architects, designers and
consumers.
On its Web site, Adaptive
Environments, www.adaptiveenvironments.org,
likens universal design to the green building movement: “Universal
Design and green design are comfortably two sides of the same coin.
Green design focuses on environmental sustainability, universal design
on social sustainability.”
Universal Design has
recently enjoyed an increase in attention and acceptance. Why?
Because it not only makes sense, but also looks great. Universal
Design features can be “invisible” in a home
when done right. I have had many people tour my home, marveling at
the unique design and beauty of the layout. Only when I make an effort
to point out the UD features do individuals notice that anything “special” was
done to accommodate universal useability.
Creating Homes with Unlimited
Possibilities
Today’s homes are fundamentally designed
for one style of user: the “military male”—healthy,
strong and six feet tall. You and I know that is not reality. Up
to 20% of the U.S. population has some form of disability and 80%
live past the age of 65. In addition, a whopping 82 percent of U.S.
home owners say they want to remain in their homes as they age, even
if they require assistance and care, according to a survey by the
American Society of Interior Designers. When done correctly, UD takes
into account all demographics and allows for future flexibility as
the homeowner’s needs evolve.
Universal Design represents
the possibility to change the way we think about designing, living
in and using our homes. It’s
about empowering individuals in ways that they never knew were possible
by opening up homes, neighborhoods and communities through the creation
of environments that welcome us all, regardless of physical ability,
size or age.
In April of this year,
our 2+ year project was completed and I am now living in a beautiful
new home built with the guiding principles of Universal Design.
I welcome anyone who wishes more information or has questions on
our project to contact me at 612-859-4990. ![]()
Examples of UD Features
Here are just a few of the
many UD elements incorporated in the author’s home:
• Extra space between kitchen cabinets, center island
and walls
• Countertop styles, heights and depths are varied
• Pot-filler water faucet above cooktop
• Lowered microwaves in kitchen for safer and easier
access
• Hallways are minimal, and where necessary are short,
spacious
• Doors are self-storing, pocket style or sliding
• Stairways with shorter rise, longer tread, intermediate
landings and no tread nosing
• Each level of home has no-curb shower room with overhead
and hand-held shower heads
• Each level of home has front-loading washer and dryer,
elevated above floor for easier use
• Exterior doors with flush, no-rise sills
• Garage floor level with main floor of home – no
step
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