Universal Design has been defined as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” This definition was developed by the architect Ron Mace, FAIA, an architect and the founder of the Center for Universal Design at N.C. State University. In recent years, architects and designers in the US and abroad have come to recognize significant and growing overlaps between Universal Design principles and emerging values of social and environmental sustainability.
I believe that the title of Life Span Design is intuitive because it implies that the home in some manner provides design features that will be beneficial to the homeowner during their lifetime. This sets the stage to develop a prescriptive set of design features that will give the prospective home buyer a rational response to that intuitive perception. The principles of Universal Design make sense. The challenge, and therefore the difficulty, is divining how to design and incorporate features into a home that will not only cater to the principles of UD but also be cost-effective, esthetically acceptable, and be perceived as having value that equivalent to any added cost.#Articles #DesignforAgingKnowledgeCommunity #HousingKnowledgeCommunity