A Trend With Universal Appeal: Home Design Concept is Moving Into Mainstream

by Paul Restuccia, The Boston Herald

This week Boston held its first full-fledged conference on universal design with an emphasis on affordable housing, but the concept is gaining ground among an increasing number of nonprofit and market-rate housing developers who want to build maximum flexibility into their homes.

Universal design posits that good design is that which works for the greatest number of people - whether they are old or young, healthy or disabled.

"A good example of universal design is the curbcut," says Valerie Fletcher, executive director of Adaptive Environments, a Boston-based nonprofit at the forefront of the movement that co-sponsored the conference along with Hub affordable housing group Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). "Curbcuts came out of the need for wheelchair access to sidewalks, but they've ended up working well for baby strollers, wheeled luggage and even skateboarders."

Universal design has its roots in the disability movement but the idea has come to embrace design that accommodates a wide range of users - from healthy children to disabled elderly.

What has driven the universal design movement in Europe and Japan has been the growth of aging populations and low birth rates, Fletcher says. Japanese policy-makers are mandating universal design principles as a way to keep elderly residents in their homes longer, cutting down on the number of caretakers needed as the country's population shrinks.

In the United States, the appeal of universal design in housing is to an aging population that studies show overwhelmingly prefer to age in their own homes rather than in institutions. It has already taken hold in other parts of the country, with many projects in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida and other states attracting retirees, and is working its way north. Several New England over-55 adult community developers are now looking to incorporate universal design features into their developments.

"In the U.S. the senior housing market is showing the most interest," says Rex Pace, an architectural engineer and consultant formerly with the Center for Universal Design in North Carolina where the movement was founded by a disabled architect named Ron Mace in the mid-1980s. "Contractors who want to stand out with a home that's accessible and flexible, but well designed, are seeing this as a marketing tool."

One Georgia nonprofit has begun certifying houses that meet universal design standards as "Easy Living Homes," allowing builders a marketing moniker much like EnergyStar for utility efficiency or LEED certification for green buildings.

Fifteen states now have "visitability" laws that provide tax incentives for new homes with a level entry, 32-inch wide doorways, and a first-floor restroom that can accommodate wheelchair visitors. Massachusetts has not yet passed a visitability statute.

"Universal design has been bubbling for awhile here but there are a lot of questions about how it will work with this state's more stringent access standards and avoid conflicts with other building codes" says Diane Georgopulos, an architect with MassHousing who attended the conference. "But it does offer features that add value to any kind of housing - bigger kitchens and baths, wider hallways and reachable storage."

This weeks' conference drew other designers, housing, disability and elder advocates and government officials and featured a presentation of a successful Northern Ireland universal design initiative called Lifetime Homes that has built 1,000 affordable housing units a year since 1998 designed to accommodate residents as they age.

The Northern Ireland housing features such universal design features as sloping access routes without ramps, no-step entries with covered canopies and low sill design so residents can see out windows while seated. Units feature wider doorways and a circulation route that can accommodate wheelchair movement. They have stairways wide enough to install a lift and stacked storage closets that can be fitted with an elevator. Each unit has ground-floor bedroom and bathroom, the bath roomy enough to accommodate wheelchair transfer if a seated tub or shower is required. Thermostats are easy to read and operate and appliance controls are set at easily-reachable levels.

"Universal design is not a set formula," says Paraig O'Brien, a consultant to the Lifetime program, who says that universal features add 1 percent to the cost of each unit and is recoupable in 3-10 years. "But we have shown that we can incorporate these principles at low cost. And there have already been demonstrated savings in home care, rehousing and health care costs."

Universal design also favors lever-style handles in place of doorknobs, rocker or motion-sensitive light switches, single-handle faucets, variable-height organizers in closets (good both for those in wheelchairs and for children), and electrical outlets that are18 inches off floor rather than a foot.

The key is adaptability, Pace says, creating spaces flexible enough to be able to add accessibility when needed but to do it in a way that's attractive and workable for all users.

"If you're a clever designer, the cost of the plan doesn't have to increase," Pace says. He recommends minimizing hallways and "interlocking" spaces to resolve access issues without having to add to square footage.

But drawer-style shelving will increase the cost of kitchen cabinets by about $15 per shelf and single handle faucets are between $20 and $40 more per unit than standard faucets. And creating a no-step entry to housing that isn't slab on grade can cost anywhere from $200 to $1,500, Pace estimates, but universal design features like earth-bermed walkways or sloping breezeways are being marketed as value-added amenities.

Universal design is being used in everything from architect-designed houses to those built by Habitat for Humanity, but a new and larger market is emerging.

"Baby Boomers, unlike their aging parents, are not going allow their activities to be limited by their environment," says Mary Jo Peterson, a Boomer herself, who is a national expert in the design of universal kitchens and baths.

"I started out designing for the disabled but had this `aha' moment - these designs are better for everyone," Peterson says. "Now people hire me because bigger kitchens and baths sell homes in all price ranges and accessibility can be added in attractive and even unobtrusive ways that will add rather than detract from the value of a home."

Peterson, who also does product consulting with General Electric and Kohler, says that appliance and fixture makers are introducing a greater number of universal design products for the home, including front-loading washers that use less water, are easier on clothes and can be operated from a seating position. There are also several American manufacturers designing accessible refrigerators with pull-out shelving and bottom-mounted freezers and dishwashers with pullout drawers.

Peterson demonstrated creative ways in which kitchens can be both accessible to those in wheelchairs - with knee spaces under sinks, stoves and lower-level counter areas that can also double as storage space- but are well-designed for other users like children learning to prepare food. She said she minimizes wall cabinet space and makes more use of reachable backsplash space for food storage.

With more controls within reach, there are safety issues for small children. Although the universal design standards calls for intuitive, easy-to-use controls that require less physical force, product manufacturers are building in safeguards such as lockout switches to protect children from injury.

Making universal design home products mainstream has as a lot to do with marketing, Peterson adds. For years Kohler and other bathroom fixture makers made what they referred to as an ADA-compliant toilet, but now they're marketing seat adjustability as "Comfort Height," broadening the appeal to include everyone from small children to those with bad backs.

"No manufacturer will say that these products are for accessibility, but the design trends are moving that way," Peterson says. "But no matter how we get to universal design it's good that we are getting there."

Source: The Boston Herald

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