Chairs and Cares Model Home serves as a showcase where people with physical disabilities or limitations and others interested in accessibility can experience accessible living design.
United States of America (Press Release) December 10, 2007 --
The longer we live, the more likely we are to develop physical limitations. In fact, one out of six Americans will experience a major disability during their life. By 2012, there will be more people age 65+ than in all the other age categories combined. Surprisingly, the burgeoning consumer need for accessible housing has not resulted in a proliferation of accessible single-family residences. It was this very absence that prompted Wayne Geurink and his nonprofit group, Chairs and Cares, to develop a demonstration model accessible home in Wausau, Wis.
The Chairs and Cares Model Accessible Home designed by Roger Plamann, an architectural instructor at Wausau’s Northcentral Technical College, is sited on the college’s campus. Virtually all of the model house’s design elements and building components were donated. Committed to the project from its earliest stages, Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co. contributed 51 windows, 21 interior doors and entry doors.
“Wayne and his team have done an outstanding job with this model accessible home,” praises Mike Salsieder, president of Kolbe & Kolbe.
The project has already made an impression on at least one builder: Lewis Reeves, president of Lewis Reeves Homes in Atlanta. “It’s a great concept, and there’s such a need for this. There ought to be one in every city across the country. Wayne’s example is truly inspiring.”
A retired Wausau Insurance executive, Geurink had suffered paralyzing injuries from a car accident in 1991. He discovered that there wasn’t a single example of a universally designed accessible residence in the central Wisconsin area: “I felt very strongly that this area needed a demonstration home that would highlight ways for people to keep their independence if they become disabled, or as they age or become less agile.”
“To people with low strength and/or less control of their upper body, an inch here or there can make the difference between dependence and independence,” says Geurink. Navigating doors and doorways, and opening and closing windows are among the biggest challenges for people with limited mobility. The home’s casement windows enable operation for a person with limited strength, and the dining room’s bay window operates with a push-button, electronic opener.
Geurink notes that accessible windows aren’t just about operability, but enjoyment, too. The windows have a maximum sill height of 33 inches, allowing viewing from a seated position. “Variety in window types is also important, which is why the home has some floor to ceiling windows. These allow for an unobstructed view, as well as letting lots of light in. The large southern exposure windows create a passive solar effect, and make the rooms bright and sunny.”
The Chairs and Cares Model Accessible Home designed by Roger Plamann, an architectural instructor at Wausau’s Northcentral Technical College, is sited on the college’s campus. Virtually all of the model house’s design elements and building components were donated. Committed to the project from its earliest stages, Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co. contributed 51 windows, 21 interior doors and entry doors.
“Wayne and his team have done an outstanding job with this model accessible home,” praises Mike Salsieder, president of Kolbe & Kolbe.
The project has already made an impression on at least one builder: Lewis Reeves, president of Lewis Reeves Homes in Atlanta. “It’s a great concept, and there’s such a need for this. There ought to be one in every city across the country. Wayne’s example is truly inspiring.”
A retired Wausau Insurance executive, Geurink had suffered paralyzing injuries from a car accident in 1991. He discovered that there wasn’t a single example of a universally designed accessible residence in the central Wisconsin area: “I felt very strongly that this area needed a demonstration home that would highlight ways for people to keep their independence if they become disabled, or as they age or become less agile.”
“To people with low strength and/or less control of their upper body, an inch here or there can make the difference between dependence and independence,” says Geurink. Navigating doors and doorways, and opening and closing windows are among the biggest challenges for people with limited mobility. The home’s casement windows enable operation for a person with limited strength, and the dining room’s bay window operates with a push-button, electronic opener.
Geurink notes that accessible windows aren’t just about operability, but enjoyment, too. The windows have a maximum sill height of 33 inches, allowing viewing from a seated position. “Variety in window types is also important, which is why the home has some floor to ceiling windows. These allow for an unobstructed view, as well as letting lots of light in. The large southern exposure windows create a passive solar effect, and make the rooms bright and sunny.”
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