Sometimes, revolutions are measured in small triumphs.
Take the concept of “universal design,” which from the moment I heard about it years ago struck me as a reasonable goal in home building.
It’s the notion that well-designed houses ought to be easy to live in, regardless of your physical ability. You shouldn’t have to stoop or stretch unreasonably in order to fix a meal in your own kitchen, for example, even if you’re debilitated by arthritis.
Just a few years ago, the concept was nearly unheard-of in the building industry and, frankly, for most people, it still resides in the realm of the obscure. But we’ve gotten accustomed to public restrooms and other facilities that are wheelchair-accessible, and there are those who would push the home builders to give more consideration to the same needs.
Yes, I know, there are complex issues involved: government mandates vs. private property rights, questions about how far one must go to make a home accessible to every conceivable need. Then there’s just plain old cost.
“We’re trying to dispel a myth that when you have an accessible house, it will be more expensive,” explains Kurt Kausch, a spokesman for the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities in Chicago, who agrees that the issue has a long way to go in terms of public understanding.
“We’re trying to let developers know, slowly but surely, that if you are going to build in Chicago, you have to think about accessibility.”
Toward that end, his department has hit upon an intriguing way of spreading the word: It’s conducting a contest for architects to design single-family homes and two-flats that have a number of requirements. One is to design a home that’s thoroughly wheelchair-accessible. Two is to design another that’s “adaptable,” meaning that its infrastructure can adapt to the occupants’ changing physical needs.
“For example, if you have a main closet on each floor in a multi-story house, that closet is wide enough to accommodate a future elevator,” Kausch said.
Three, the winning architect also has to make a home that’s “visitable” — the ground floor has no step entry and there’s a usable bathroom on the ground floor.
But No. 4 is the toughie. The designs have to be relatively inexpensive. The homes have to be buildable within the New Homes for Chicago guidelines, which translates to $155,000 for a house and $220,000 for a two-flat. Total construction costs can’t exceed $120 per square foot, and the winning designs will, indeed, be built next year in the North Lawndale neighborhood for NHC, a city-financed housing program.
Organizers of the contest, which is co-sponsored by the city’s Department of Housing, were pleasantly surprised when more than 100 architects attended a meeting to hear more details. And, they were thoroughly pleased when 42 teams of architects each paid a $50 fee to enter, Kausch said. Entries are due June 18, with three finalists to be announced a few days later.
The winner, to be announced Sept. 9, will receive a $5,000 stipend, and then see the designs actually constructed, by LR Development of Chicago.
In all, the contest would seem to amount to the very essence of the craft of architecture: Take the very specific needs and budget limitations of the client and turn them into good design.
“The sky is not the limit,” Kausch says. “You have to make it affordable, attractive and acceptable.”
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Read Mary Umberger’s past columns at CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/HOMES
