Explore Aging in Place at the ‘Smart House’ Exhibition
Many of us have lived this story: a parent or other loved ones who want nothing more than to stay in their own home as they age. The issue is gaining attention because the first 70 million Baby Boomers hit 65 years old in 2011. Their home-related needs will have a significant impact on home and product design.
That impact is explored in an exhibition called “Smart House, Livable Community, Your Future” at the University of Minnesota’s Goldstein Museum of Design in St. Paul. It will be on display until May 22, 2011. The exhibition explores the housing trend of “aging in place,” which allows people to stay in their home by using products with adaptive technologies and by making simple adjustments to their living environment.
Featured in the exhibition is Mobilegs, from Mobi, an innovative mobility device developer in Minneapolis. Mobilegs is a breakthrough in crutch design that makes it easier, safer, and more comfortable to get around. It’s designed by Jeff Weber of Studio Weber + Associates. He also designed Herman Miller’s Embody chairs, Caper chairs, and Envelop desk, which are among the products featured in the Smart House as well.
The exhibition is the “home” of fictional, 65-ish homeowners, Jim and Sarah, who have renovated their 1960s home so that they can continue to enjoy their active lifestyle. Visitors can sit in a power-lifted chair, handle easy-to-use-kitchen utensils, scoot around the kitchen on a wheeled chair to try out lower counters, operate an easy-open window, and observe wall colors and lighting that ameliorate the impact of changing vision. The bath features a walk-in shower and reinforced wall for grab bars.
Through notes between Jim and Sarah and brief videos, visitors will be privy to the challenging decision-making process that the couple went through during the renovation and what they especially appreciate about the design features of their transformed home.
With the “Smart House” exhibit, Herman Miller, Jeff Weber, and everyone else associated with it are helping us not only understand issues of aging, but also feel better about our future. And it’s never too early for that.
Image via: University of Minnesota’s Goldstein Museum of Design
This is actually a good argument for making all new home construction incorporate universal design as a matter of course. Imagine a builder creating a subdivision and putting in ramps instead of front steps for all the houses. If that feature was designed in from the beginning, it probably wouldn’t be any more expensive than steps.
Ramps are easier for everyone to use and would make it so much simpler for homeowners to age in place. Once it became the status quo, it would look completely normal for all the houses on a block to look that way. This wouldn’t take away a homeowner’s ability to put in steps if that’s really the look they prefer. But why not start from an accessible place and let people make changes from there?
Just my two cents.
Daisy McCarty
San Diego Office Furniture