Housing And Design Brief 2

Brief 2   -    Wheelchair access       

Mary is 82 and struggling to manage her three bedroom home with its extensive garden now that she needs to use a wheelchair.  Her son and their family have a large garden at the back of their suburban home.

 

 They have asked you to design Mary a unit to enable her to maintain her independence but support her mobility needs. 

 

Mary still wants to cook her own meals and have visitors in her own space.  

 

Due to budget and limited space, the family cannot afford to build any more than 24 square metres of space to meet Mary’s needs.  The family would like you to consider passive solar design features within the construction and sustainable energy and water saving features

 

A site plan showing the existing home on the block has been provided. 

 

 

Define the following in your presentation:

 

Brief and Aims     Context Location/Site Analysis     Precedents Existing exemplars	This section to be presented as PowerPoint
Problems and Opportunities Existing problems and possible solutions   Final Design   Site Plan to indicate position of unit   Plan   One elevation – showing ramp   Evaluation/Reflection   References	This section to be presented on A3 paper

 

Criteria to be assessed

 

 

1	Communicate ideas and information using a range of techniques;
2	Demonstrate self management strategies to complete individual and team activities;
3	Apply features and principles which will contribute to environmental sustainability within design decisions;
4	Understand and use architectural design principles relating to functional use of space;
6	Locate, analyse and integrate information about user needs, precedents and influences in design projects ;
7	Use and document the design process;
8	Generate design solutions which respond positively to the brief and identified aims;

 

References:

·        Master Builders Association of the ACT, 2001,  Housing for Life Designed for Everybody, Paragon Printers, ACT

Available in PDF form from website www.mba.org.au

 

·         Universal Design is one of the elements of the Queensland Department of Housing’s Smart Housing … Available as PDF . Universal Housing on

http://www.build.qld.gov.au/smart_housing/publications/ud_booklet/index.asp

 

·        Wheelchair accessible housing and Lifetime Homes

Habinteg’s Disability Equality Centre – England

Wheelchair accessible housing and Lifetime Homes is essential to increase the supply of housing for disabled people. The fact sheets below give a background to the principles of these two standards of accessible housing.

GLA Best Practice Guide to wheelchair accessible housing – PDF

http://www.habintegdec.org.uk/pages/housing.html

 

Passive Solar Principles for Temperate Climates

http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/index.htm
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/fs11.htm

 

 

 

Source:

Gary Palma, Design for Seasons, published in The Owner Builder, October/ November, 2006, page 14