Universal design in the real world
Mike Field (@field_hamster) shares examples of his home in New Zealand through a series of tweets.
One thing that’s pretty interesting about the internet is that you can connect with people in a wide variety of locations — even across the world!
Mike Field sent us an email to share photos of his home. He lives in New Zealand and followed design standards set by an organization called Lifemark that aims to help people implement universal design (UD) into their renovations or new home projects. He said not everything is perfectly UD, but it sure makes living easier for their entire family, including their son who uses a wheelchair.
One thing I love about this home is that it’s a good example of UD in what seems like it’d be financially accessible for a lot of people. Many “showcase” homes often are so large and expensive that it makes it look like universal design is almost impossible or out of reach for many.
I particularly like the low thresholds at all doors (including out to the deck area), as well as how they set the island back farther in the kitchen to allow a wheelchair to go around the opened dishwasher. But anyway, Mike gives some good explanations of their design choices below…
Entrance
Kitchen
Outdoor Space + Helping with Laundry
Hallways
Getting Through the Door
Evan’s Room
Bathroom
Open Floorplan + Easy to Conceal Workspace
Garage + Laundry
Don’t Dismiss the Details!
Floorplan
Another great thing about this house is that it looks like many other houses out there. The features that increase the functionality aren’t “medical” and the design helps increase each family member’s quality of life. Thanks Mike for sharing about your home!
If you’d like to share your example of UD, feel free to send an email to hello@universaldesign.org and we may feature it on our blog!
