Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Congratulations Brooke and Dave!

                                                 








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.