Not all homebuyers are 25-year-olds in top physical condition, yet that seems to be the person most new homes are designed to fit. Not only are new-home buyers far more diverse, but baby boomers are aging (you've probably noticed). They want to make their existing homes more accessible, so they can remain in them for longer as they become less agile. New concepts being gathered under the universal design approach help ensure homes can be used by anyone at any stage of life.
Universal design is "a user-friendly approach to design in the living environment where people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability can experience an environment that promotes their health, safety and welfare today and in the future," explains Rebecca Stahr, ASID, CAPS, CSP, and president of the Universal Design Alliance in Atlanta.
Seven key principles guide universal design concepts, according to the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University:
1. Equitable use. The design has to be useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities. This encompasses such concepts as avoiding segregating or stigmatizing any users based on abilities.
2. Flexibility in use. The design must accommodate a wide range of individual preferences and abilities, offering right- or left-handed access, for instance, and facilitating users' accuracy and precision.
3. Simple and intuitive use. The design must be easy to understand regardless of the user's experience, knowledge or language skills. This includes arranging information consistent with its importance, minimizing complexity and offering effective prompting.
4. Perceptible information. The design should communicate necessary information regardless of the user's sensory abilities. This means using different modes, such as pictorial, verbal or tactile clues, for redundant presentations.
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