AGING ISSUES

TOPIC OF AGING AND ARCHITECTURE HITS ITS STRIDE

"Architecture has failed to find a mechanism for dealing with the body's transformation as it ages. Modernism’s obsession with youth culture and its reinvention of traditional family structures rendered its designs powerless in this realm. Contemporary design yields more from regulations than a concern for ergonomics and the efficacy of good architecture."

The issue of building design and regulations not meeting the needs of our aging population will be a consuming topic in our homes and communities very shortly. The existing housing inventory will only maintain an acceptable value if it can be reworked to serve the human life cycle and the limitations that come with aging. These buildings also need to serve extended families. Currently building codes are written to deny in-law apartments and the logical use of existing out-buildings for additional dwelling space. Code officials will soon have to become part of the solutions sought by homeowners to maximize their space due to family and economic circumstances.

BOMB SHELTERS

I have been watching an House Hunters International episode that follows a 25 year old woman looking for an apartment in Tel Aviv. Her short list of requirements is that the apartment needs to be near her mom and it must have a bomb shelter. Bomb shelter? I suppose the technical design is similar to a hurricane shelter. Both are a necessity in reference to your geographic area but only the bomb shelter is a result of political instability. The process of design involves gathering program information uniquely for each client, location, and budget. But politics and goverment regulations can dictate details of a project. Bombs, hurricanes, earthquakes, ocean tides, wetlands, endangered species, community association rules, building codes, and many other forces must be integrated in to the design solutions. Oh, yes, it needs to look good and function flawlessly.

SMALL SPACES

Do you remember when all your belongings fit into an automobile? My middle daughter just pulled out of the driveway with a Honda Element full to the point that she could see minimally out the rear window. All of her belongings to begin a new phase in her life. That means a small city apartment on the third floor in San Francisco. Just the basics. There have been moments over the last few weeks when I thought I could return to the days such simplicity. Why not pack it all in and head cross country? If it doesn't fit, it doesn't go.
Although most of the items in her car are necessities, I made sure she had some objects not just of commodity, but also delight.

Here to new beginnings.

The Purpose of Design Matters

THE PURPOSE OF DESIGN MATTERS

I am in the middle of the long process of designing the web site for Design Matters. It is important to consider the purpose of the site so that the visitor can within minutes determine if a working relationship is possible. Some sites are for marketing to new potential customers, some are a portfolio of projects, and some are strictly for general information about the firm and job opportunities. I found the quote below in an Architectural Record article about web site design. It reminded me about an article I wrote years ago for the Pleasanton News about the impact of design on human behavior. I love that Hillier Architects decided to use their web site to communicate the ability of design to change lives. This is also the purpose of Design Matters.

“Hillier’s story was that they had all these great experts working for the firm. We opted to open the site with pictures of people, and tell their story with surprising questions like ‘How can architecture help cure cancer?’ We then gave short explanations of why Hillier’s cancer-research buildings provided architectural solutions that led to more productive research.

Architectural Digest Home Show

I am looking forward to attending the Architectural Digest Home Show later this week in New York City. Traditional, contemporary, and future trends in home design will be displayed. All the top designers come out for this event, which also includes Dining for a Difference, a major AIDS fundraiser amongst the design community. Hopefully I will be able to take photos and post them for your inspiration.

This link will take you to photos from the 2009 show.

http://www.archdigesthomeshow.com/show-information/photo-gallery/

New Home Trends

The 10 Must-Have Features in Today's New Homes

by Steve Kerch
Monday, February 1, 2010provided by

The kitchen is still king.

LAS VEGAS -- Americans want smaller houses and they are willing to strip some of yesterday's most popular rooms -- such as home theaters -- from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles, consumer experts told audiences at the International Builders Show here this week.

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"This is a traumatic time in this country and the future isn't something we're 100% sure about now either. What's left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity," said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill.

Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms and homes that are designed 'green' from the outset," she said. The key for home builders is "finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point."

For many buyers, their next house will be smaller than their current one, said Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio, Texas. Large kitchens that are open to the main family living area, old-fashioned bathrooms with clawfoot tubs and small spaces such as wine grottos are design features that will resonate today, she said.

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"What we're hearing is 'harvest' as a home theme -- the feeling of Thanksgiving. It's all about family togetherness -- casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces," Lavender said.

Paul Cardis, CEO of AVID Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of home-buyer preferences, said there are 10 "must" features in new homes.

1. Large Kitchens, With an Island

"If you're going to spend design dollars, spend them where people want them -- spend them in the kitchen," McCune said. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others "they are on the bubble," Cardis said.

2. Energy-Efficient Appliances, High-Efficiency Insulation and High Window Efficiency

Among the "green" features touted in homes, these are the ones buyers value most, he said. While large windows had been a major draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those, he said. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.

3. Home Office/Study

People would much rather have this space rather than, say, a formal dining room. "People are feeling like they can dine out again and so the dining room has become tradable," Cardis said. And the home theater may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the "shift from boom to correction," Cardis said.

4. Main-Floor Master Suite

This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general, he said. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity gains.

5. Outdoor Living Room

The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, even in Canada, Cardis said. And the idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside.

6. Ceiling Fans

7. Master Suite Soaker Tubs

Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, Cardis said, but "they clearly went down a notch," in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.

8. Stone and Brick Exteriors

Stucco and vinyl don't make the cut.

9. Community Landscaping, With Walking Paths and Playgrounds

Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.

10. Two-Car Garages

A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often then not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories, Cardis said.

Copyrighted, MarketWatch. All rights reserved.

Pursuit of Beauty

"For me, that which is divine,
rests in the pursuit of beauty"
John Saladino

No-Maintenance Myth

Our virtual home designer and building scientist weigh in on defining true sustainability.

By: Rich Binsacca

“The most sustainable home is one that you care enough to maintain over time,” says Miami-based residential designer Marianne Cusato. “The promise of a ‘no maintenance’ home or product is a myth, and it actually undermines sustainability.”

For Cusato, whose Katrina Cottage concept has become popular along the rebuilding Gulf Coast, sustainability has less to do with a menu of energy- and resource-efficient materials than it does with creating housing that the owners want to—and can—repair and refinish to keep it fresh and performing well. “You can have all the green products in the world, but if the house can’t be maintained and wears out after 25 years and has to be replaced, that’s not sustainable,” she says.

This relatively new angle on sustainability, shared by architects and builders who appreciate a time when window panes could be replaced without buying a whole new window, is a backlash against a generation of products and systems bent on relieving homeowners of the burden of home maintenance.

That sentiment is echoed by building scientist Mark LaLiberte, who is partnering with Cusato and building expert Fernando Pages to launch the Home for the New Economy, a series of designs that deliver livable, adaptable, buildable, and sustainable housing for a new economy of thrift, not excess. “Building science isn’t a checklist,” LaLiberte says, comparing the concept to green building. “It’s an approach to building that improves overall performance and considers the occupants while lowering costs.”

While Cusato and her team obviously hope the Home for the New Economy series resonates with builders and buyers on a mass-market scale (communities in upstate New York and in South Carolina have already taken the plunge), she’s also building a virtual version of the concept (in cooperation with Builder) to help spread the word (to pre-register, go to www.builderconcepthome2010.com).

Simply, Cusato is hoping to rekindle the value of homeownership beyond price appreciation and resale potential. “We need to get back to owners participating in their homes, not just living in them,” she says.

Adult Communities

Recent News from Remodeling magazine about adult communities.


http://www.remodeling.hw.net/remodelingtv/default.asp?bcpid=1185051963&bclid=1435946407&bctid=1435437065