BEFORE THE ARCHITECT – DESIGN CONSULTING
"ADAPTABLE Home Design Standards - Home Building Standards —
ADAPTABLE DESIGN BATHROOMS"
“Hallmarks of the business of designing and building – as in other life experiences – are the opportunities. I've heard it said and have read as much that ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ Luke 12:48. The notion of reciprocity nestled in a guarded, communal threat wrinkles my brow. The notion that talent or skill or other worthy marble of character and achievement can be unearned deeply furrows, as the divisiveness of diminished expectations. I prefer to turn this coin over – ‘To whom little is given, much is still expected.’ People rise to occasions, not the other way around.” Before The Architect
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"Adaptable Design Bathrooms" ..... See the national press release.
"Adaptable Design Bathrooms" ..... Buy your copy here & now.
~ EXCERPTS FOLLOW ~
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things to consider
Before The Architect designs and drafts house plans. Our business has taken a new turn — into a type of house design we refer to as “adaptable.”
To be clear, in this context ‘house’ means single-family, owner-occupied, detached dwelling. That’s private, not public, not commercial, not a business, not institutional, not government-funded, not multifamily. You know, the kind of house in which most Americans reside.
And to be clearer, adaptable design is not new to us; what's new is how much more of it there is to do.
What's In A Name?
Adaptable design goes by many other names: ADA standard for accessible design, accessible design; accessible design/universal design; universal design; life-cycle housing; flex housing; lifespan design; barrier-free design; smart housing; renewable home; etc.
Coming Together.
More and more, we work with folks —
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Planning the house to which they will retire. |
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Preparing their residence for their own inevitable aging. |
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Readying their home to take in parents. |
Who’s So Adaptable?
Adaptable residential design is about three groups:
Those who prepare for a time when they'll be living in the same place long enough to reasonably expect some significant physical diminution.
Those who already experience that for which the former group is preparing.
Those who take into their household someone in either of the former two groups.
Who's In Charge?
As far as single-family, owner-occupied, detached dwellings and physical disabilities are concerned, home designers are pretty much on their own once they’ve picked through a pile of print long enough to get it that it’s up to them to reckon ways to domesticate public and institutional sources.
A directly, comprehensively relevant body of law, regulation, and experience doesn't exist when you're designing and building adaptable houses.
Whereas a given residence can be designed specifically for a given disability, who is to know what's in store for either that resident or that residence? Not the home designer. And not the client.
Where to begin?
We'll start with adaptable bathrooms in the manner by which home designers and custom home building contractors would deal with bathrooms, i.e., by working through what, why, and how-to.
Standards Format.
The basic format we’ve chosen to present adaptable bathroom design standards is essentially the same as in our publication Home Design Standards - Home Building Standards.
WHAT’S TO LEARN?
So, what’s to learn?
“I pass by a house now and then – an old house – with floors way off level even viewed from a goodly distance. Maybe the place was built that way or gave it up a little at a time. Folks live in that house, and probably have for years, maybe generations. The house stands at odds with its norm, but not with the people who tread those boards. They stay put. They have a life. Resident princesses may grouse about the errant pea, but I'll bet there's nary a word uttered about that floor. It's the way things really are. It's home. The paradox: it isn't quite right, but it's the way it should be. The human condition is as variant as human adaptations to it. We may be all alike, but not exactly.” Before The Architect. From QUOTES.
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ADAPTABLE BATHROOM DESIGN STANDARDS
(selected examples)
Standard: Grout amendments shall be carefully considered for potential allergenics and other toxicities.
Policy: Tile grout can be amended with more than just water preparatory to application, in order to alter or enhance grout properties, e.g., curing time, water impermeability, ease of floating, flexibility, etc.
Comment: Read additive labels for contents – acrylics, polymers, fungicides, latexes, etc. For the latex-intolerant: know that commonly it’s a latex-based amendment to grout that is used to promote water impermeability and stain resistance.
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Standard: wall tile shall extend in surface area coverage without interruption to finish height and width before application of interior walls, cabinets, and other face of wall obstructions.
Policy: Such extensions make subsequent retrofit by relocation or removal less physically disruptive, messy, time-consuming, and expensive.
Comment: Particularly with progressive disabilities, that which is comfortable, safe, useful today may not be tomorrow. An eventual need to alter interior cabinetry, closets, and other wall obstructions is significantly facilitated by rediscovery of finished tile wall beneath existing interior wall framing. Wall intrusions for fastening can be plugged and grouted or decoratively filled as with low profile, physically unobtrusive, smooth-faced carriage bolt heads, etc.
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Standard: Doors and drawers shall not conflict.
Policy: Both in terms of safety and convenience, door-to-door and door-to-drawer conflicts should be avoided. This includes passage, closet, and cabinet doors and cabinet drawers.
Comment: Practically, open shelf, pull-outs, built-ins, and other recessed spaces are preferred storage elements.
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Standard: A lavatory shall be sited in other than a corner wherever possible.
Policy: This is primarily a convenience standard.
Comment: This is a preference, recognizing that not all layouts can comply.
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Standard: Adaptable DESIGN bathroom lighting DESIGN shall be fully controlled at each passage entry, and at least one full set of those controls shall be interior to the bathroom.
Policy: Both safety and convenience apply.
Comment: This standard is adapted from Home Design Standards - Home Building Standards. We have modified it to include control collocation.
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Standard: Interior surfaces shall be not shiny or otherwise conducive to lighting glare.
Policy: Lighting intensity and lighting glare can vary more or less directly. The former may be appreciated, the latter not.
Comment: This lighting design standard is easy to build into design and custom home building, and can be quite difficult subsequently. Indications such as matte, flat, nonglare, etc. are to be embraced; indications such as gloss are to be eschewed.
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