6th draft

A Study on Adaptable Residential Design for Mobility Disabilities




Min Hyung Lee
Intensive English Program
07/FA-ENGL-097-19
Sang Kim, Thomas Healy



November, 12, 2007

Introduction

Due to the rapid growth of aging society, traffic accidents, and industrial disasters, there has been an increase in people with mobility disabilities, who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids. This has become a major issue in our society. Communities and government have tried to give people with disabilities equal rights to participate in their society as valuable members. For example, public facilities, not only buildings but also roads, schools, and parks, are more nowadays accessible than in the past and can be used by all people without any barrier. However, the disabled are still struggling with their physical obstacles. In spite of that interior designers should think about various members of communities and their abilities, the few studies on interior design for the impaired have been limited to public facilities. It is difficult for the handicapped and family members to live a convenient life in their house, therefore it is necessary for interior designers to think about these difficulties. In order to address this issue, this report proposes universal design in residential design. According to the Center for Universal Design (2007), universal design is barrier¬- free and accessible design for all people. It makes products and environments usable by all people. Thus, this paper will focus on the difficulties of the disabled in residential areas and will try to find adaptable residential design through universal design as a solution.

The Physical Obstacle of The Disabled in Residential Space

Residential space design is one of the most important factors which influences the quality of life and independence for the disabled. However, the physically impaired have difficulty moving and obvious access problems with the physical obstacles in their houses. According to Young and Pace (2007), house design for people who are not handicapped has developed as industrialization increases, while house interior design for wheelchair users has not been developed addressed their maneuvering problems. This maneuvering problems include narrow gallery spaces, steep slope, uneven surfaces, negotiating steps or changes in level at an entrance, toilet and bathing facilities, and reaching and seeing items placed at conventional heights.

Universal Design in Residential Space

Young and Pace (2007) showed, if impaired people who use a wheelchair don’t live in a particular house designed in consideration of the disabled, they feel difficulty during their daily lives with their wheelchair. The interior designs and architectures are definitely important to the handicapped because they could be focal point for quality of life. In some cases, the physically challenged use facilities designed for them conveniently after they are remodeled, while their family feels difficulty using this facility because this design doesn’t consider normal people. Therefore, this standard should guarantee independent life for the handicapped and convenient life between incapacitated people and family members in the same place simultaneously and with a universal design, which was suggested at North Carolina State University, could be solution to solve this problem in this paper. From now on, this report would suggest some focal criteria in each area, which could meet demands of both sides.

Entrances and General Interior Space

Whenever the handicapped enter into their main door, they would meet an obstacle in front of the door and they need another person’s help to enter. Therefore, in terms of entrance design, the Young and Pace (2007) study found the following:
One entrance without steps.
Minimum five x five-foot maneuvering space at the stepless entrance.
For viewing, a sidelight or a peephole at 42 and 60 inches above the floor.
All closet rods adjustable to 48 inches above the floor.

Kitchens

Moreover, the handicapped need extra space for maneuvering with a wheelchair and more space to turn around in the kitchen. However, we generally can not find this wide space in the kitchen and disabled people feel difficulty to move back and forth there and they can’t move easily from kitchen furniture and to refrigerator. For example, whenever they want to open the door of kitchen furniture and refrigerator, wheelchair users have to move aside from theses objects because of lack of space in the kitchen. According to Young and Pace (2007):

Adaptable cabinets to reveal knee space at sink and under work surface near
cooking appliance.
Counter space with front - or side-mounted controls and staggered burners to
eliminate dangerous reaching.
Single-lever faucets.
Side-by-side refrigerator/freezer or refrigerator/freezer with frozen food storage in the bottom.
Variable height work surfaces adjustable through a range of 28 to 42 inches.

Bathroom and Bedroom

The bathroom is an important space that causes many unexpected accidents due to carelessness. The obstruction factors are increased when the disabled try to use both hands or to reach and pick up objects, or when people try to move and to assist the severe handicapped in the bathroom. And also the bathroom needs extra space to move and turn around in the wheelchair. Designer have to think about the height of the toilet as the same as the wheelchair and safety holders for the enfeebled because it is difficult to switch from a wheelchair to bath tubs and toilets. Regarding bathroom design, the Young and Pace (2007) study found the following:
Adaptable cabinets to reveal knee space under lavatory.
Enlarged reinforced areas around toilets and bathing fixtures to provide secure.
Mounting locations other than the minimums found in design standards.
Offset controls in tub or shower to minimize stooping, bending, and reaching.
Single-lever faucets.
Toilet centered in a minimum 36-inch wide space, 18 inches from the sidewall.
Adjustable height hand-held shower head.
Mirror to backsplash at lavatory.
Finally, the bedroom needs more space to access the bed and the height of it is the same as a wheelchair.

Conclusion

This research focused on the characteristics of disabled people who use wheelchairs, their difficulty in general residential houses and suggested some criteria as the solution of these problems using universal design. For the entrance, this paper suggested a design without steps and enough space for moving. For the kitchen, this paper proposed adaptable cabinets considering knee space and variable height working space. Finally, this paper suggested wide enough spaces to turn around near toilets and bathing fixtures and adaptable cabinets for knee space under lavatory.
This standard is on the assumption that there is enough space and they can afford to renovate their home but it still has difficulty when applying it in real conditions, while this standard can be adaptable design criteria for mobility disabilities and it suggested that it can substantially help the disabled. Even though this research paper suggested some standards in residential design, these are limited to wheelchair user and this paper could not cover all the physically challenged. There is no researches about seriously ill disabled people like those who have cerebral palsy. Therefore, designers and architects have to establish particular adaptable standards for each different the disability.

Reference List
Ostroff , E., & Preiser, W. ( 2001). Universal Design Handbook. New York. McGraw-Hill.
The Center for Universal Design (2007). About Universal Design. North Carolina State University. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm
Young, L. C., & Pace, R. J. (2007). Accessible Multifamily Housing. North Carolina State University. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/pubs_p/docs/acessiblemultifamilyhousing.pdf
Young, L. C. (2007). Residential Rehabilitation, Remodeling and Universal Design. North Carolina State University. Retrieved September 28,2007, from http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/pubs_p/docs/residential_remodelinl.
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