Design for All

BY DEBORAH PADDISON

There's No Place Like Home

ASID Appoints Aging in Place Council

During the next 25 years, the population of people 65 and older is expected to double, with many living beyond age 80. A research study done by ASID indicates that a significant majority of homeowners plan to remain in their current homes as they age, but they are not considering how their needs may change over time. Which means that your clients may no longer be able to access that lavish new spa bathtub, prepare meals in that gorgeous new kitchen with the granite countertops, or make it up the stairs to enjoy the lovely view from that new deck. Any number of aging- and non–aging-related causes — a stroke, car accident, fall, failing eyesight — may keep people from being able to function in their own homes as they age.

Recognizing that the majority of Americans want to remain in their homes, and that they will need appropriate design solutions to allow them to "age in style" and meet their needs through the transitions of life, ASID has now established an Aging in Place Council.

Aging Gracefully

"I'm very excited about the Aging in Place Council," says member Louis Tenenbaum of metro Washington, D.C., a speaker, writer, consultant and authority on aging in place. He has worked with many individual homeowners and organizations to develop strategies for residents to remain safe and comfortable in their own homes despite changes in their health.

Tenenbaum only half-jokingly refers to himself as a "school-of-hard-knocks gerontologist." In the late 1980s, while working as a carpenter and contractor, he was hired by a family to remodel their home for their 13-year-old son, who had been shot and was coming home from the hospital as a paraplegic. That opportunity to help a family in such a positive and critical way opened Tenenbaum's eyes. Soon after, he read an article about the coming wave of aging Baby Boomers and recognized that these people would have some of the same concerns regarding accessibility in their homes. "I realized that I could have a role in this, and that as a contractor it would differentiate me in the marketplace," he says.

Over the years, through dealing with hundreds of clients and getting involved with aging-related organizations, Tenenbaum has learned a lot about universal design and its benefits, both to the design industry and society at large.

"I think that universal design is a valuable tool, not only for helping individuals be able to live where and how they want to as they age, but also as a way to find a better, more economical, more resource-efficient form of housing and care as the population grows," he says. Universal design features can make the difference between someone living at home longer or moving prematurely into a more costly assisted-living facility or nursing home.

Meeting the Challenge

In addition to Tenenbaum, members of the ASID Aging in Place Council are:

Chairman Drue Ellen Lawlor, FASID, a California interior designer, aging-in-place consultant and principal in Education-Works, Inc., a Dallas-based group that develops seminar programs for people in the design-related professions
Truth Camina, ASID, director of interior design services with Centex Homes in San Antonio, Texas
Patricia Rowen, ASID, CAPS, California interior designer and co-owner of Rowen Design, specializing in residential remodeling and new-construction projects incorporating universal design principles
Leslie Shankman-Cohn, ASID, president of Eclectic Interiors, Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee and principal of EO Designs, specializing in custom-designed furniture, space planning, universal design, "aging in style" and sustainable design
Rebecca Stahr, ASID, CAPS, CSP, president of LifeSpring Environs, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia and cofounder of the nonprofit Universal Design Alliance (www.universaldesign.org)

At the council's first meeting in the fall, they hammered out an action plan to enhance awareness of aging-in-place issues among designers and the public. The plan includes production and publication of information in all ASID publications and the Aging in Place/Universal Design Resource Center on the ASID Web site, courses focused on information value and CEUs, a track at the annual Interiors conference, public relations, and a seminar in the coming year. The council also will use the Newsflash and the Aging in Place Resource Center to publicize aging-in-place programs, events and education beyond what is produced by ASID, and identify and support events and activities designed to raise interest among the general public.

A Continuum of Services

By creating the functional and dynamic spaces that allow people to age in place in their own homes, designers and architects play a critical role in creating better environments for older adults. But it takes more than that.

"When a man or woman moves into an assisted-living facility, someone fixes their meals, shovels their snow, cleans their gutters, drives them to the mall, and so on," Tenenbaum says. "A range of needs is covered, in an environment which can be good or bad, depending on the facility. But still, all those services are provided. When we create universal-design value in what I would say is a better environment — the person's own home — there's still the question of where the rest of these ancillary services are going to come from. As a society we are just at the inception of that, of realizing that those services need to be provided and finding ways to do it, such as reallocating existing financial resources that currently steer people toward assisted living instead of staying at home."

This represents a major societal shift, and while design won't be the driving force, "we can lead through our energy, our enthusiasm and the beauty of our work," Tenenbaum says. "The first thing that has to happen is that people see aging in place in their own homes as a viable choice."

Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) is a national designation program of the National Association of Home Builders' Remodelers Council. For more information about designing for aging in place, visit the Aging in Place Resource Center at www.asid.org.

Louis Tenenbaum is the author of the forthcoming book The National Association of Home Builders' Guide to Aging in Place.