Universal Design - Myth or Reality?
The practice of Universal Design is very real. Prominent projects like Chicago’s Millenium Park, Detroit’s Liquid Planning, and New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Park, show the amazing practical application and value of Universal Design ideas. While aging-in-place and multi-generational home design benefits tremendously from Universal Design.
The movement’s goal to enable “products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation” is, we think, foundational to contemporary design. How do we design and build a space that anyone can work well in, regardless of age, size or ability? And, is such a space the most comfortable for you?
Universal Design is real, and it is working beautifully. How it works for you and your custom home is maybe not so cut-and-dry, though.
You & Universal Design
For us, designing and building to a rational and general standard is more cost effective. It keeps things constant from project to project, and constant is beneficial for production costs.
But your dream custom home is not just another project, it complements and assists your lifestyle. With over 20 years of experience in the building industry, our enduring success is crafting the best home for you.
Living in a beautiful Artisans Group custom home, a home tailored to you, is an amazing experience precisely because we design and build your home.
Universal Design? Real and awesome. What we know from experience; though, is that the Universal Person is a myth.
Is Universal Design of value to your home design, then?
The seven principles of Universal Design as laid out by the Center for Excellence in Universal Design.
- Equitable Use
- Flexibility in Use
- Simple and Intuitive Use
- Perceptible Information
- Tolerance for Error
- Low Physical Effort
- Size and Space for Approach and Use
This thoughtful approach to a broad range of uses and scenarios for your home allows us to offer you a more diverse range of options.
Many of our clients desire to live in their custom home for many years and they need a home responsive to changes in their lifestyle over time. By thoughtfully crafting your home from beginning to end, you get the long term benefits of a home dynamically responsive to you and your needs.
Consider your home throughout your retirement. Minimal transitions, wider doors and hallways, and blocking hidden in your walls that can be used for future accessibility aids can all make your home a fit for you over the long term. And all are elements of Universal Design we employ to your benefit.
More options means more custom home possibilities for you and your lifestyle.
Yes, Universal Design offers great value in your home design.
Artisans Group Design+Build = An Amazing Home, For You
Our Interior Design guru, Brenda Fritsch, CKD, CBD, CAPS, notes that Universal Design is a great beginning in the design process. Her award-winning creations often start within the framework of its principles, because comfort and ease-of-use share broad parameters. An integrated shower pan (no threshold to step over!), for example, is an element of Universal Design that many of our clients rave about after Brenda introduces the idea. The conversation grows from there.
Hearing your wishes and ideas about your dream home provides Brenda the main ingredients for her magic. With your dreams and her expertise, your kitchens and bathrooms become beautiful and functional, today and tomorrow.
Your beautiful custom home built for your lifestyle. That’s a magical opportunity.
What does a home for you look like?
As an experienced Pacific Northwest Design+Build firm, we specialize in listening to your dreams and creating your amazing home. From beginning to end, designing and building your home is about you and your lifestyle.
Our team of experts is here to listen and communicate your vision through all of the moving parts needed to get your home built on budget and on time.
Let’s build a home for your Universe.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Posted on May 16, 2017
