A historic farmhouse is turned into a 21st century showcase of accessible design.
By Lori A. Wood
These days, the instruments that make a home accessible to those with disabilities seem downright futuristic. What would happen if these innovations were incorporated into the antiquity of a nineteenth-century structure? Thanks to one man, that hypothetical scenario is now a reality.
“When I originally moved to the site in 1968, the house was divided into three apartments, and I rented one of them,” says C. David Ward, Resident Curator of Future Home, located in Phoenix, Maryland. “In the early seventies, this five hundred acre farm was sold to a developer, and I continued to lease the property. The developer sold it to the state of Maryland and, in 1976, it became known as Gunpowder State Park. The state wanted to raise the house from the foundation, and offered the other residents financial incentives to move. I declined, and started the process of saving this historical site.”
A Change of Plans
In 1977, at the age of thirty, David became a C-4,5,6 quadriplegic. “I had a fall from a tower, and landed, headfirst, into about thirty-two inches of water. After a year of rehabilitation, I moved into my parents’ home. I continued to lease the property on a month-to-month basis, while the Historical Society did its research.
“My rehabilitation doctor and I became involved with an organization known today as the Volunteers for Medical Engineering, Inc. (VME) in Baltimore,” he continues. “We were charter Board members of this organization, which was dedicated to solving problems for people with disabilities and the elderly. Our volunteers were swamped with requests from individuals with disabilities needing modifications to products that would allow them to meet certain challenges in their daily lives. Many volunteers worked in the aerospace industry, and VME wanted to showcase some of their skills by creating an environment that would benefit individuals with disabilities.
“The house was saved in 1984 and put on the Maryland Historical Registry, and in 1985 or ‘86, I negotiated a contract with the state to restore the house with twenty-six acres, David says. “The Historical Society’s guidelines for restoring this structure supported a common sense approach that was sensitive to people with disabilities and the aging population. This was essential to building an accessible environment, without sacrificing the historical integrity of the building.
“The property is situated on what was the main horse-and-buggy route from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Baltimore, Maryland. In the 1950s, the structure served as a tenant house for a five hundred-acre dairy farm. It took seven or eight years to restore the site, and a couple of years of research and development before that. It cost about $450,000 to complete.”
Universal Principles
Future Home used commercially available products and systems and adapted or enhanced them for people with special needs, making the environment adapt to the residents, instead of the other way around. “There were challenges in making the site accessible, and incorporating the principles of universal design and assistive technology into an environment that was built in 1855, as a tavern and inn, in order to demonstrate how capturing the abilities of people with disabilities could enhance their quality of life and in life.”
The seven principles of universal design were created by Ron Mace, founder and former program director of the Center for Universal Design at the University of North Carolina in Raleigh. These principles include: equitable use, (providing the same techniques of use for all users, when possible) and flexibility of use (allowing for options in the way that something is used) and perceptible information, by which the design communicates effectively to users.
The Future Home project had three objectives. “The restoration was to focus on making the environment accessible for a person with severe quadriplegia, while maintaining the historical integrity of the structure. It was designed to educate the public, via tours and information dissemination. Finally, the project aimed to increase the capability of responding to needs of people with vision, hearing and speech impairments, and to develop solutions for progressive impairments.
“As a home and living laboratory, the project offers information on the results of such things as new product availability and effectiveness, and research that affects the development and application of technology for independent living.” On-site activities include: scheduled open houses, conferences and workshops.
“With its technological advancements, Future Home can inform and inspire, but the biggest challenge is its devotion to helping change the attitudinal barriers that exist toward the way people with disabilities should live,” David explains. Future Home opened to the public in 1994, and was named Restoration Project of the Year by the Baltimore County Historical Landmarks Commission that same year.
State of the Art
Future Home is filled with state-of-the-art technology, including electronic dampening of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. “Historically, HVAC has been done in commercial environments. However, it’s getting some attention in residential homes. People with conditions such as spinal cord injury have bodily thermostats that don’t function as others’ do. With electronic dampening, these individuals can be comfortable in a room, without wasting energy in the parts of the environment not being used, which makes it more energy-efficient.”
The concept of mapping is part of Universal Design. When products are properly mapped out, they provide the principles. For example, when discussing a cook top, mapping refers to were the knobs are located (in the front), which knob controls what burner (it should be logical; the left knob controls the left burner, etc). Because the knobs are properly mapped out, perceptible information and safety are achieved.” The home also boasts slip-resistant flooring, automated lighting systems and wide doorways and hallways. A comprehensive list of Future Home’s amenities can be found here.
“Technology and accessible design don’t solve everything, nor will the solutions be here-or be cost effective-overnight.” David acknowledges. “We can, however, go a long way toward the elimination of the hundreds of barriers to independent living. The needs are there, and the technology exists. The challenge is to make it happen. The technology used in Future Home eleven years ago cost approximately forty-six thousand dollars. The good news is that, today, the costs to incorporate the assistive technology necessary to meet the needs of almost any individual can be accomplished at an average additional cost of ten to twelve thousand dollars per new home.”
Raising awareness about the growing need for such homes has been a challenge. “Getting new homes built using even minimal accessible features is proving difficult, due to, in part, resistance to change and a lack of awareness,” David asserts. “Many don’t recognize the need for an accessible home until physical trauma or illness seriously challenges their ability to carry out daily living activities. The more people who know about universally designed accessible environments, the more we’ll see built.”
“Future Home is demonstrating to the world that people with disabilities can live, work, and play in their own communities when currently available technologies, primarily in home automation and communication electronics, coupled with architectural accommodations, can give consumers with disabilities control over their environment that is equivalent to that of the able-bodied,” David explains. “I believe that Future Home has changed the way a lot of people think about environments and how we function in them.”
Lori A. Wood is a regular contributor to Action.
