Please join Schroeder & Holt Architects – Architecture
2000 in congratulating Architectural Interns Brooke Borelli and David Raschka
for winning the Grand Prize in an Aging-In-Place design competition
sponsored by AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students). Borelli and Raschka (M.Arch University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2013 and 2015, respectively) worked under the advisement of
Matt Jarosz, Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Reliving Home, a national competition created by Dr. Kaye
Brown with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, challenged students
to generate new ideas for renovating a single-family building in order to
support an elderly homeowner’s desire to age in place. The client was a 95-year-old man whom owns an
existing log cabin, located on a horse farm in North Carolina. The intent was to transform an existing cabin
into a residence that addressed both current and future aging needs while maintaining
the client’s personal independence and providing a home with a fresh look and
modern technologies.
Additional program objectives and criteria involved:
·
Design holistically by using the language of
universal design and utilizing the therapeutic opportunities of the project
site
·
Change the perception that end-of-life care must
occur in congregate institutions
·
Capacity of design to support independent
self-care by the elderly owner
·
Flexibility of design to interface with
innovative healthcare delivery systems
Dave and Brooke were excited
to participate in the competition because of their interest in single family
homes. From their experience working at
Schroeder & Holt Architects – Architecture 2000, they were able to provide
a new perspective on this typology to adapt to client’s evolving needs.
While exploring design solutions Brooke and Dave
investigated and addressed many of the challenges that come along with aging:
diminished flexibility and senses, integration and use of technology, the
ability to use mobility devices in the future, provide easy to clean surfaces,
focused attention to accessible working heights, barrier free thresholds and
ease of movement within the space. “We wanted to maintain as much of the
existing cabin as possible and show a contrast between old and new. Keeping the existing cabin provided a sense
of familiarity that will trigger the client’s memories,” said Dave.
The final design solution, “Re-imagined Tranquility”
presents “a day in the life” where the designers depict how the client uses all
the spaces of the home throughout the day.
Specific design related solutions include:
·
Placing the bed against the fireplace to provide
a firm sense of grounding
·
Fully accessible exterior patio space
·
Step-less shower with a large bathroom to allow
him to maneuver around, even with a wheelchair
·
Design maximized day-lighting while preventing
direct solar gain
·
Clerestory windows allow fresh air to circulate
throughout the home (remotely controlled)
·
Kitchen designed with front controls on
appliances, under cabinet drawers, and under cabinet refrigerator/freezer
·
Providing a large dining room was important to
allow his family to have meals together while visiting.
·
The house features a guest suite for family or a
live-in care provider.
Technology plays a large part of the overall design and
aging-in-place concept. The design
solution supports the client’s independent self-care and integrates in-home
healthcare delivery systems. The
resident is able to video conference with family and doctors and he checks in
daily with a nurse via tele-health equipment.
Motion lighting and motion sensors are included to alert him when a
visitor is coming. Windows and doors can
be operated through his tablet and automatically close and lock at night for
security. Monitoring devices are placed
throughout the home to alert family and medical personnel in the case of an
emergency.
Basic principles of Organic Architecture also influenced and
were incorporated into the interior and exterior design. The existing hearth was originally located at
the center of the house and remains; as the heart of the home it is important
that the rest of the living and support spaces grow out from it. Brooke and Dave also used the existing open
space surrounding the hearth to serve as the living, kitchen, and dining areas. “This
works well when designing for aging clients, as it avoids tight corners and
closed in spaces that would be hard to maneuver around,” explains Brooke. The new addition continues the cabin’s
expression of a simple structural rhythm through the use of post and beam
construction. The existing roof is also
replaced with one continuous roof form, inspired by the existing tree canopies,
to unify and shelter the existing architecture with the new addition. The façade of the addition is a charred wood
rain screen that compliments the existing logs.
Stained plywood panels were used for interior partitions and maintain
the modest rustic theme.
Entries were evaluated for integration of universal design
principles, utilization of innovative health-care delivery systems, and
capacity for self-care by the elderly owner.
Student designers faced the real-world situation of core concerns
pushing concepts in opposite directions, a critical aspect of the practice that
is often hard to master. All of the
winners balanced the conflicts presented in real-world design practice, a
mastery that shows through their diverse yet exquisite projects for aging-in-place. “More
perhaps than all the beauty and elegance in the winning submissions, the
competition’s client seemed deeply moved by the tele-health spaces students
created in designs for his new forever home.
I believe it is up to the designers of tomorrow to make these spaces so
all clients can continue caring for themselves throughout the life course,” states
creator Dr. Kaye Brown. 
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