Home designs that work for everyone
Designing a welcoming home. Margaret Ward's Corinda home is universally accessible.
When Margaret Ward’s family wants to hold a celebration, her Queenslander style home in Corinda is usually first choice of venue.
Margaret's home is one of the few places that can accommodate the needs of everyone in her family after she renovated it according to Universal Housing Design (UHD) principles.
UHD is a practical and modern approach to home design that allows occupants to easily adapt their home to meet their changing needs over time.
While her motivation to renovate using UHD was to meet her daughter's accessibility needs, Margaret, a trained architect, is delighted her home now suits the needs of so many of her visitors.
"At times, like Christmas, it's difficult to find somewhere that everyone in the family - the young children, the grannies and those in wheelchairs- can easily access and move around comfortably," Margaret said. "My house is truly inclusive."
Renovations included lowering the house, updating the existing bathroom and building a second bathroom with an accessible shower. The kitchen was also revamped to include open space, lever mixer taps, drawers and cupboards with big handles and lower countertops -all UHD features.
Margaret's spacious dining area allows a wheelchair to fit easily around the table.
Margaret is one of the growing number of people who would like to eventually have all new houses and renovations incorporate UHD principles. As convenor of the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design, she is working to have access provisions included in the Building Code of Australia for all new and extensively modified housing.
Industry, community and government join forces on UHD
With the number of older people and people with a disability living in private houses set to increase dramatically over the next 50 years, building using UHD principles has government.
Established in September 2004, the Queensland Universal Housing Design Working Group is developing a collaborative position on UHD.
The group has representatives from the Master Builders Association, the Housing Industry of Australia, the Queensland Building Services Authority, state and local government and many community groups.
"They all realise the need to find practical and cost-effective ways to meet the housing needs of all people," Margaret said.
The entrance of Margaret's house, an accessible walkway.
Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of Queensland Community Relations Manager, John Mayo, said UHD means you don't have to find a home to match a person.
"We have had laws in place for some time ensuring accessible public spaces. It's time now to start looking at making private spaces accessible as well."
For more information on UHD, visit the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design website at www.pwd.org.au/anuhd or the Department of Housing website www.housing.qld.gov.au
Last updated November 2007