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Dewsbury et al: Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece

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Dewsbury et al: Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece
Designing Residential Spaces for People with
Disabilities: A Thinkpiece.
By
Guy Dewsbury, Bruce Taylor and Martin Edge
Scottish Centre for Environmental Design Research,
The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland
A paper presented at the SURFACE Workshop, C i B WO84: building non handicapping environments, October 2-4th
2001, Salford, UK.
Introduction
Designing homes that meet the needs of people with disabilities is not as straightforward as
might first appear, especially when technology is likely to be performing a central role in the
finished design. The Scottish Centre for Environmental Design Research at the Robert
Gordon University have been undertaking smart home designs for people with differing levels
of disabilities for the past two years, part of which was for a 4th Framework European Union
Telematics Research Programme entitled CUSTODIAN, which developed a software tool for
designing smart homes, and latterly as a research consultancy which has designed a number
of responsive residences for people with a variety of disabilities. A number of other papers
[Dewsbury G, Taylor B, & Edge M, (2001a & b), Dewsbury G, (2001), Dewsbury G & Edge M,
(2001), Edge M, Taylor B, Dewsbury G & Groves M (2000)] have outlined the differing
problems that beset the designer of smart environments that are required to be responsive to
highly complex needs. This paper is intended to be a thinkpiece that attempts to unpack the
main considerations within the design process. It reflects the main considerations that have
been derived from designing residences for people with cognitive impairments and physical
disabilities. Four main areas of consideration are covered within the paper, which together
allow the designer a wider picture of the overall design.
1. Primary design considerations
The initial starting point of any design is the primary considerations. For the purposes of
designing homes that are responsive to the needs of residents and carers, these two groups
obviously become the focal point for consideration. It is essential to consider the needs of
carers and residents within the same view and not as separate entities.
1.1. Carers’ needs
1.2. Residents’ needs
1.3. Costs/ budgets:
1.3.1. Who is paying?
1.3.2. For what?
1.3.3. What is being paid for in the design?
1.3.4. What budgetary constraints are there and will they affect the design?
Having determined the needs of residents and carers through using appropriate user needs
methods or ethnographic investigations; it is notable to consider the final primary
consideration, namely the budgetary constraints with which the project will be controlled.
Evidently, the current climate of health and social care related packages are highly
economically determined and therefore the budgetary constraints may mean that
technological solutions are not a feasible or practical solution. If this is the case, it is essential
that the design of the building is still considered and refined. Ancillary technology such as
community alarms and fire detection systems will most likely still be required and budgeted
for, this allows the possibility of adding some minimal assistive technology into the design by
the choice of these systems.
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Dewsbury et al: Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece
2. General design of building/ internal spaces
There is little point in putting the latest racing engine into a Model T Ford; the breaking system
and other components of the cars make up would not be able to cope with the demands
made of it (see: Dewsbury, Taylor and Edge 2001a). Similarly, there is little point in putting
the latest technology into a house where the resident(s) or carer(s) will not be able to benefit
from it because the design of the house itself is not appropriate. A minimum number of
questions need to be addressed concerning the internal spaces:
2.1. Are they accessible?
2.2. Are they meeting the needs of the residents/ privacy/ independence/ rehabilitative?
2.3. Do they meet the needs of the carers: privacy, security?
Having determined the accessibility issues relating to the internal spaces it is necessary that
the designer is concerned with activity that is to occur in the external spaces, outwith the four
walls of the residence.
2.4. Is there external spaces/ garden? – if so…
2.4.1. Is this space secure and safe?
2.4.2. Is space accessible?
Accessibility to external spaces can be as important as accessibility within internal spaces. If
a resident feels trapped, or the carers is limited to caring for a person within the residence
itself this will limit the ability of the rehabilitative nature of the design. This raises the common
issue that has been noted from our research, that professionals tend to focus on either the
internal or external spaces as mutual exclusives. There tends to be a belief that people are
either inside the house where they undertake X,Y and Z or outside where they do D,E and F.
There is little realisation that these spaces are not separate in many peoples minds and
therefore should be considered of equal importance. The evidence suggests that
rehabilitation is not just something that occurs within internal spaces.
The design of the building must be responsive to the needs of the carers and residents but
must also be designed for the other users such as domestic and catering staff and
professional visitors as well as friends and family. Therefore, the designer must consider the
following:
2.5. Is the building accessible from all entry points/ access points?
2.5.1. Visitability
2.5.2. Usability
2.6. Which areas are required to be secure?
The designer must also consider and make a note of the contacts that they are to make and
maintain during the design process. It is also necessary to determine the level of interaction
that can be expected with each of these contacts not only to ensure that the designer does
not get over committed, but also because the amount of meetings and time spent in
interacting with these contact should be reflected in the costs of the design.
2.7. Who do you need to make contact with and interact with?
2.8. What level of interaction is required?
3. The Structure of the Residence
Often the first thought in the mind of the designer is the residence physical attributes. This
paper contends that although this is a crucial aspect of the design its importance is less than
the social aspects of the design. However, as can be seen from the preceding
considerations, the physical aspects will interplay with some of the aforementioned
considerations such as budgets etc. Notwithstanding, the structural aspects of the residence
are of importance for a number of reasons; the designer needs to determine the feasibility of
applying suitable technology and determine it there are any impediments that are likely to
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Dewsbury et al: Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece
inhibit the process. Initially the most important aspects are the social structural ones relating
to room occupancy and room usage:
3.1. Type of residence:
3.1.1. House or flat or multi occupancy dwelling?
3.1.2. Home many rooms?
3.1.3. How many rooms / levels/ floors accessible by resident(s)?
3.2. Does home meet accessibility criteria?
3.3. How many floors/levels are there?
The secondary aspects are related more to the buildings physical nature as follows:
3.4. What is the construction of the building?
3.4.1. Are there fire prevention or other safety aspects that emanate from the
buildings construction that need attention?
3.5. Is the building a new build or retrofit? If retrofit..
3.5.1. Does the cabling and pipe ducting need replacing?
3.5.2. Is the cabling and pipe ducting accessible?
3.5.3. Will the structure of the building withstand the alterations?
3.5.4. Is planning permission required for the alterations
The problems associate with designing retrofit installations have been detailed significantly by
Edge et al (2000), Gann et al (1998) and Berlo (1999). Retrofitting is likely to be more
expensive and will often involve unforeseen expenses, such as redecorating, new piping and
ducting work or rewiring. If retrofitting is to be undertaken, the designer should consider that
the house should still meet barrier free design criteria [see Edge, HM et al (1998), Martin, F.
(1992), Scottish Homes (1995) and Kane G, et al (2000) for examples of barrier free design].
4. Technology System Specification
Having considered the structure of the occupiers of the internal and external spaces, and the
structure of the building, the designer’s attention should be turned to the technology that could
be proposed to meet the needs of the occupiers of the spaces. As previously stated in
Dewsbury G, Taylor B, & Edge M, (2001a & b), Dewsbury G, (2001), Dewsbury G & Edge M,
(2001), technology for the sake of technology is not acceptable. Technology should be
considered as a augmentation to the overall design. Although technology can be empowering
it can also be disempowering to the user if it is not suitable, not reliable, or does not perform
the functions it was intended to perform. Currently there are no technological assessments
that are designed to embrace smart home technology and therefore the designer is required
to translate the determined need into a smart home system or subsystem. This is undertaken
by undertaking the use-case strategy (Taylor, 2001), whereby the designer maps the needs to
the design and systematically works through different options and configurations to ensure
that the system does not produce unexpected consequences. By undertaking use-cases, the
designer might completely redesign the system in order to meet the differing and conflicting
needs that the stakeholders place on the environment.
4.1. Are non high-tech solutions more appropriate?
4.2. What systems can enable the carer and residents?
4.2.1. Is there to be one major system and manufacturer used or many?
4.3. How is the system going to benefit the carer and residents?
4.4. Where are the electrical points to be placed?
4.4.1. Are they act the correct height and easily accessible?
4.5. Where are the control units to be placed?
4.6. How many different systems are required to be combined together in the overall
design?
4.7. Are there any special considerations that are required within individual designs?
4.7.1. How much are these likely to cost?
4.7.2. Are they feasible?
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Dewsbury et al: Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece
4.7.3. Can they interface with the main system design?
Having determined the systems basic architecture, the designer should consider the usability
characteristics of the system and how the system is to become interactive, and provide a safe
and secure environment for the residents and carers.
4.8. What form of alerting system is required?
4.8.1. What priority/level of alerts are required?
4.8.2. Should alerts be audible, visual or sensory?
4.8.3. Who is to access the alerts?
4.9. What safety features are required?
4.9.1. What / who are these required for?
4.10. What support systems are required?
4.10.1. What / who are these required for?
4.11. What rehabilitative systems are required?
4.11.1. What / who are these required for?
4.12. Does the system empower the residents and staff/carers?
4.13. Are the user interfaces clear and easy to use?
4.14. Are the systems not likely to add to confusion?
4.15. Is the system self-evident?
4.16. Are automated tasks doing what they should do and measuring what they
should measure?
Conclusions
References
Berlo Ad van (Ed) (1999) Design Guidelines on Smart Homes: A COST 219 bis Guidebook,
Inclusion of Disabled and Elderly people in telematics –
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Dewsbury G & Edge M, (2001), Designing the Home to Meet the Needs of Tomorrow …
Today: Smart technology, health and well-being, Open House International, Summer 2001,
http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/_ OHI.pdf
Dewsbury G, (2001), The Social and Psychological Aspects of Smart Home Technology
within the Care Sector, Paper Presented to the Environmental Design Research Association,
Edinburgh, and Published in New Technology in Human Services, Sept 2001,
http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/_The Social and Psychological aspects of SHT.pdf
Dewsbury G, Taylor B & Edge M, (2001a) Designing Safe Smart Home Systems for
Vulnerable People, in Proctor R, & Rouncefield M (eds) (2001) Dependability in Healthcare
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DIRC.pdf
Dewsbury G, Taylor B, & Edge M, (2001b) The Process of Designing Appropriate Smart
Homes: Including the user in the design, A paper presented to the “Workshop on Ubiquitous
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Dewsbury et al: Designing Residential Spaces for People with Disabilities: A Thinkpiece
Computing in Domestic Environments” Nottingham University 13-14th September 2001,
http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/Dewsbury et al Appropriate design of smart homes.pdf
Edge M, Taylor B, Dewsbury G & Groves M (2000) Seniors Housing Update: The Potential
For ‘Smart Home’ Systems In Meeting The Care Needs Of Older Persons And People With
Disabilities, Vol 10, No 1, August 2000, ISSN: 1188-1828,
http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/gero/friesen.html, or
http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/_SHUPaugust00.pdf
Edge, H.M., Slaven, G.A. and Deveci, G. (1998), The Adaptive House in Rural Social Housing
Policy: Removing Barriers through Design Participation and Flexibility, European Network for
Housing Research Conference, Cardiff, September.
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Institute of Housing
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the Environmental Design Research Association, Edinburgh, and Published in New
Technology in Human Services Sept 2001, http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.cm/Frank.pdf
5
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Accessibility is now a major issue in the design and maintenance of housing estates. This paper considers the reasons why this issue has emerged and the main obstacles to accessibility encountered by housing estate residents. Focusing on a mature estate in South Belfast, Northern Ireland, investigates the obstacles to accessibility experienced by the residents in order to produce a hierarchy of impacts. Residents were surveyed on a number of issues including location, roads and pavements, transportation, level change, wayfinding, safety and security, and public areas. It was discovered that obstacles relating to wayfinding created the greatest problems for residents; however, attitudes towards accessibility varied according to the age of the respondent. The study concludes that accessibility should be introduced estate-by-estate dependent on a resident profile in order to maximise resources and advocates the adoption of a co-ordinated interagency approach.
The Process of Designing Appropriate Smart Homes: Including the user in the design, A paper presented to the " Workshop on Ubiquitous Computing in Domestic Environments " Nottingham University 13-14th
  • G Dewsbury
  • B Taylor
  • M Edge
Dewsbury G, Taylor B, & Edge M, (2001b) The Process of Designing Appropriate Smart Homes: Including the user in the design, A paper presented to the " Workshop on Ubiquitous Computing in Domestic Environments " Nottingham University 13-14th September 2001, http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/Dewsbury et al Appropriate design of smart homes.pdf
Seniors Housing Update: The Potential For 'Smart Home' Systems In Meeting The Care Needs Of Older Persons And People With Disabilities
  • M Edge
  • B Taylor
  • G Dewsbury
  • M Groves
Edge M, Taylor B, Dewsbury G & Groves M (2000) Seniors Housing Update: The Potential For 'Smart Home' Systems In Meeting The Care Needs Of Older Persons And People With Disabilities, Vol 10, No 1, August 2000, ISSN: 1188-1828, http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/gero/friesen.html, or http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.com/_SHUPaugust00.pdf
The Adaptive House in Rural Social Housing Policy: Removing Barriers through Design Participation and Flexibility
  • H M Edge
  • G A Slaven
  • G Deveci
Edge, H.M., Slaven, G.A. and Deveci, G. (1998), The Adaptive House in Rural Social Housing Policy: Removing Barriers through Design Participation and Flexibility, European Network for Housing Research Conference, Cardiff, September.
Every Home You'll Ever Need The Design of Barrier-Free Housing, Scottish Homes
  • F Martin
Martin, F. (1992), Every Home You'll Ever Need, Edinvar, Edinburgh., Scottish Homes (1995), The Design of Barrier-Free Housing, Scottish Homes, Edinburgh.
The Frankenstein Home, would you want to live in one? Paper Presented to the Environmental Design Research Association, Edinburgh, and Published in New Technology in Human Services Sept
  • Bj Taylor
Taylor BJ, (2001) The Frankenstein Home, would you want to live in one? Paper Presented to the Environmental Design Research Association, Edinburgh, and Published in New Technology in Human Services Sept 2001, http://www.smartthinking.ukideas.cm/Frank.pdf