Universal design is gaining traction
By Harold Bubil
As someone who counsels business people on how to succeed, Karen Bush understands the importance of cooperation and planning.
These are concepts she applies to her personal life as the co-owner of a condominium unit in Le Chateau, the bright pink building on Sunset Point near the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
When the two women bought the unit, they decided to renovate, and they also decided to incorporate principles of universal design.She shares the unit with her friend, Louise Machinist. “She owns one end and I own the other,” said Bush. “In between is common space.”
UD, which is gaining in relevance as the population ages, is “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design,” writes architect Ron Mace of the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University.
The concept is related to “aging-in-place,” which includes the retrofitting of homes so that older people can adapt to physical limitations and needs.
“UD contributes to convenience and function of the products by making the products safer, easier to use and often more comfortable,” the National Association of Home Builders says. “The key component is the market appeal of the home and the integration of universal features into the overall home scheme. UD becomes a virtually invisible element of a home well-done.”
“When we speak with clients, we talk in terms of UD because it is easier to market ‘safety, convenience and ease of use’ vs. accessibility, such as ‘balance bars’ in the bathroom,” said Wanda Gozdz, president of Golden Age Living and an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers.
Gozdz will be a panelist at a public forum presented by the local Universal Design Coalition from noon to 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Realtors Association of Manatee and Sarasota, 2320 Cattlemen Road in Sarasota. Admission is free.
The panel includes John King, president of Rampart Homes; Greg Hall of Hall Architects; Kathleen Houseweart, geriatrics manager for SMH Healthcare System; and Tracy Lux, president of Trace Marketing. The Herald-Tribune’s real estate editor, Harold Bubil, is the moderator.
“You need it before you need it,” said Larry Hale, chairman of the Universal Design Coalition. “We age, and our mobility changes.”
“When design is done well, it doesn’t impede anyone from being able to function,” Gozdz adds...
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http://realestate.heraldtribune.com/2015/06/12/universal-design-is-gaining-traction/
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