Handouts for Aging-in-place makeover competition: the community wins!

Transcription

1 Universal Design Summit 5 St. Louis MO May 8, 2013 Handouts for Aging-in-place makeover competition: the community wins! Results of this educational Trojan horse: driving meaningful discussions about Aging in Place; providing effective market research; and creating a vehicle for collaboration. Presenters: Liliane Choney, Founder/Executive Director ReVisions Resources Maxine Fischer, Associate State Director AARP Launched in 2010, Designed for Life public awareness campaign expanded on educational opportunities from a contest. The campaign offered classes and workshops about Universal Design for Aging in Place; provided opportunities for homeowners to bring their aging-in-place challenges to design experts for help; created practical solutions for five representative homeowners in our area; revealed how the design process works and what to expect when you re remodeling; transformed a kitchen that worked well for a young family in the 1970s into a dream kitchen to serve the family s changing needs and provide more enjoyment every day; and provided the public with opportunities to experience aging-in-place solutions through exhibits, showcase events, and a tour of our makeover. More than 20,000 people had the opportunity to see these exhibits, attend classes/events, and tour the Designed for Life kitchen makeover. Designed for Life is a collaboration of more than 40 nonprofit agencies and businesses in health, housing, and aging, led by ReVisions Resources in partnership with AARP San Diego and the San Diego Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. About Designed for Life: Examples and resources: Cos- effective makeovers Design gallery Products Weekly blogs News you can use Articles from experts Educational materials: How our needs change with aging How older homes can benefit from today s products Home assessment tools Answers to commonly asked questions Financial resources for help Cost information For more information: Liliane Choney, liliane@revisionsresources.org, DL or (cell) Maxine Fischer, mfischer@aarp.org, DL or (cell)

2 design for life/ Meeting Untapped Needs Remodel Competition Joins Designers with the Community/ san diego s design culture stretches back to its mission roots, still visible in the many Spanishstyle buildings and plazas throughout the city. Yet for many San Diegans, design is something to be admired rather than embraced. This is especially true among the elderly population. The temperate climate and ocean vistas have long attracted retirees to San Diego. And like most Americans, they want to stay in their own homes as they age and continue to enjoy an active lifestyle. Few homes, however, are designed to accommodate the changes that come with aging. Often, home modification employing universal design and other strategies can help make the difference between relocating or staying put. For a variety of reasons, though, most homeowners are not aware of these design options and their benefits. ReVisions Resources, a nonprofit that helps older adults remain independent for as long as possible, set out to rectify that. Inspired by the AARP Recession Remodel competition, they initiated a universal design contest, called Designed for Life, to demonstrate appealing, cost-effective solutions for aging in place. In collaboration with AARP, the ASID San Diego Chapter and other community organizations, they invited homeowners to submit a short essay on why their homes needed a remodel. Contestants were asked to select a kitchen or bathroom and describe the work needed. The winning entry received a one-room remodel, as well as the services of an ASID designer. Lacking the means is not the only deterrent to home renovation. Even homeowners who could afford it did not know how to go about it or who could help them. The outpouring of interest in the contest demonstrated that there was a real, untapped need in the community. The entries were surprising in another way as well, says Liliane Choney, executive director of ReVisions Resources. We thought the response would be based on immediate health need, but we saw many entries coming from folks who wanted to plan ahead. As they reviewed entries, the organizers discovered an unexpected bonus. What had begun as an effort to stimulate community interest in helping seniors stay safe and comfortable in their homes grew into an ad hoc needs assessment. There s not a big knowledge base of what people need and want in the community, says Choney. The essays gave particular details of the challenges seniors in the community were facing. Out of the hundreds of entries received, nine were selected for the next phase of the contest and nine interior designers from the ASID San Diego Chapter volunteered to create design concepts employing cutting-edge solutions that would address the needs that homeowners had expressed in their essays. The homeowners were asked to provide some additional information about their lifestyle preferences and any limitations the designer would need to know about, along with photos of their kitchen or bath. This material was given to the designers, who were tasked with developing a budget and specifying materials, as well as creating a design that supported the occupant s abilities and lifestyle. Each submission also included a floor plan and perspective drawings. Everyone Wins Given homeowners usual reluctance to discuss aging-related issues, competition organizers were unsure what type of response they might get. They hoped to identify 25 to 30 possible projects, expecting that most would be from low-income homeowners who lacked the resources to do their own remodels. Instead, hundreds of requests came pouring in, from many socioeconomic levels. Lacking the means was not the only deterrent to home modification, they found. Those who could afford to do so simply did not know how to go about it or who could help them. Photos by Paul Burlingame Photo 40 icon fall/12 the magazine of the american society of interior designers AID_Q0312_L.indd 40

3 design for life/ When completed, the nine concepts, along with the homeowners essays, were exhibited at libraries in the community. The designs were also shared with the homeowners, who had the option to purchase the design or hire the designer to perform the project. Photos by Paul Burlingame Photo Visible Change A blue ribbon panel of design and aging-in-place professionals reviewed the nine finalists and selected a winning design by Lindsay Hester, ASID. Her design re-envisioned the kitchen of the Petrini family, whose multigenerational members have developed physical challenges over the course of their 30-plus years in their home. (For more information about the Petrini family and their kitchen redesign, see Up Close on page 34.) Incorporating the principles and strategies of universal design, Hester greatly improved the kitchen s functionality and accessibility. The remodel, valued at $50,000, was performed by Wardell Builders AID_Q0312_L.indd 41 and 22 other firms contributed labor and products for a true community effort. The kitchen was later selected as one of five homes for Spaces Re-Imagined & Re-Invented, the 2012 Remodel Tour sponsored by the ASID San Diego Chapter and San Diego Home and Garden Lifestyles magazine. A special guide was produced just for the tour, with details about the contest, the winning project, supporters and tips from the design finalists. A public access cable television channel for seniors, which had produced a video about the contest to recruit homeowners, also produced and aired a video featuring the contest winners and the kitchen makeover. The success of the Designed for Life competition and the publicity it has engendered for the designers and the chapter exceeded all expectations. We are very proud of the finished results, says Tina Marie Koch, ASID, San Diego chapter past president and the chapter lead for the project. It was extremely well-received by the contest partners, sponsors and the general public. Through the videos, chapter website and design blog, the project continues to reap benefits. AARP is reprinting and distributing additional copies of the guide to educate homeowners, and ReVisions Resources and the ASID San Diego Chapter are already planning another competition for But Choney hopes that other communities will also want to sponsor a contest. There is a lot of education that needs to be done, she says. People aren t aware that designers can help. We learned a lot in doing this first contest, including the level of support required from various sectors of the community to help get the word out and produce a successful project, explains Choney. ReVisions Resources is now developing a proposal process to help assess a prospective sponsor s likelihood of success and is seeking funding to expand the program to other areas of the country. i A project implementation package is available to ASID chapters or members that are interested. To get a Designed for Life contest started in your community, contact Liliane Choney at liliane@revisionsresources.org. fall/12 icon 41

4 up close/ Multigenerational Makeover Kitchen remodel takes the age out of aging in place/ PROJECT SPECS/ Firm Name Hester Interiors Principal Lindsay Hester, ASID Kitchen Underwriter Wardell Builders Location San Diego, Calif. Photography by Paul Burlingame Photo Diane Petrini, 59, and her husband Joe, 62, share their home in San Diego with their daughter Laura, 35, and grandson Torin, 15. They have lived there since 1986, and while it has served them well, it was beginning to present some challenges. Joe, a Purple Heart Vietnam War veteran, suffers from arthritis and other health issues. Diane has vision problems, as does Torin, who has mild cerebral palsy. So when Diane heard about the Designed for Life contest (see related Design for Life article on page 40), she decided to submit an entry explaining why the family would benefit from a kitchen remodel. Family members enjoy preparing meals together, but they found themselves struggling to work in their era kitchen. The cabinets and their contents were difficult to access for Joe with his arthritis and Diane with her impaired vision. Insufficient cabinet space and inadequate lighting were also problems, while the limited countertop space was cluttered with appliances. The room had too many entrances and an island that did not provide much workspace but divided the room awkwardly. Diane s entry struck a chord with the judges, who awarded the Petrinis the grand prize of a complete kitchen remodel and the design services of Lindsay Hester, ASID, who had competed for the project by submitting a concept and drawings. While updating the look of the kitchen, Hester focused on three key functional improvements, employing universal design principles so that the kitchen would continue to serve the Petrinis well for many years to come. Mobility. To better accommodate three generations living under one roof, Hester removed the island and introduced a U-shaped configuration that dramatically increased countertop space and created multiple workstations for multiple cooks. A raised breakfast bar provides a gathering space while protecting stray hands from the adjacent built-in cooktop. In addition, the new floor plan widened the entrance and opened up the floor space in the central work area, allowing for the use of an assistive mobility device should that be needed in the future. Accessibility. Preparing meals in the old kitchen required a lot of stooping, bending and hauling of heavy pots and appliances. Hester replaced the outdated cabinets with new ones featuring pull-out drawers, lazy susans and an appliance garage with sliding tray. Two waist-level dishwasher drawers, one on each side of the kitchen sink, were added to ensure adequate dishwasher capacity while minimizing bending and stretching. Hester also redistributed the placement of storage units so they were located more conveniently near work areas. Visibility. Several improvements address Diane and Torin s vision issues. The old kitchen was lit by four sets of yellow-tone fluorescent lights centered in the ceiling. In the new kitchen, Hester put in white recessed lights spread evenly throughout the ceiling, then layered the lighting with task lights at work areas and a lighted exhaust hood over the cooktop. Greater contrast in cabinet colors and finishes (wood, granite and brushed stainless steel) helps delineate surfaces as well as orient the cook to the various workstations. Glass doors on some of the cabinets make it easier to see what s inside. Finally, new corner windows and solar-powered shades were installed to help provide natural lighting and control glare. Hester s design meets all the Petrinis requirements and integrates them into a contemporary look that homeowners of any age or ability would welcome. Universal Design was a new term to me at the start of this contest, shares homeowner Diane Petrini. But I have learned so much about the concept that will benefit anyone, and is the perfect solution for our family. Our new kitchen will allow us to stay in our home for many more years. i Designer Lindsay Hester selected fixtures and finishes in contrasting tones in order to more clearly delineate surfaces for the visually impaired residents, while also orienting users to specific workstations. Design features included replacing outdated cabinets with pull-out drawers including two waist-level dishwasher drawers to reduce the need for bending. Layered lighting, through a combination of recessed lights and task lights, along with maximizing natural light sources, has greatly improved visibility in the kitchen. 34 icon fall/12 the magazine of the american society of interior designers AID_Q0312_L.indd 34

5 up close/ AID_Q0312_L.indd 35 fall/12 icon 35