Curious Louis: How builders can use universal design to make homes everyone can use
Built in 2004, it’s the nation’s first building constructed entirely under the universal design concept, which incorporates features that allow people with disabilities to live in the space. It can be defined as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized […]
Forget millennials: Seniors are poised to reshape the housing market
As baby boomers age, will they change the paradigm of older adult housing?
Can America’s Aging Stay in Their Homes?
A recent report outlines a number of challenges to aging in place.
Center for Real Life Design launches with an emphasis on universal design and sustainability
Muted colors and matte finishes create a soothing environment for children with autism. A slate-gray cooking surface on a cream porcelain countertop provides contrast for those with vision disabilities. And a low, shallow sink eases kitchen work from a wheelchair.
Cohousing communities help prevent social isolation
Groups in Denmark and the U.S. are choosing to live in intentionally intergenerational communities, which emerged to strengthen social ties between aging seniors and their younger counterparts who are balancing work and family. People living in them say the model fosters an interdependent environment and helps everyone feel more comfortable with the process of getting […]
Acceptable, affordable housing key to healthy aging
As housing strategies continue to be tested across Ontario, it is encouraging to see communities driven by a common question: What is required to support quality of life and optimize people’s health, participation and security as they age?
A whole new breed of architecture can help fight drug addiction and save thousands of lives every year
On January 13, 2016, police found the body of a 31-year-old man, who had been dead for “at least” 12 hours, in a car parked on Pike Street in Capitol Hill, Seattle. He had died from a drug overdose in the shadows, which is common, as drug users often are too ashamed to seek help […]
Universal Design is for everyone – but what is it?
How design can help inclusive growth
This week the Inclusive Growth Commission published their final findings and recommendation after an independent enquiry into how the UK can achieve inclusive growth.
How Accessibility-Focused Housing Design Benefits Everyone
Two years ago, changes to the Ontario Building Code upped accessibility requirements for multiunit residential buildings.