Design for the Elderly….Demographics

As the age of the baby-boomers is getting up there, the need for geriatric consideration increases.  I propose a re-starter home.  This is a 2 bed/2 bath home for those who are retired.  This would be a community, a supportive network, of people and places accessible by walking or bycycling.

Inspiration

Steven Holl’s Turbulence House

Flooring Materials

Plyboo flooring is an alternative to solid wood.  Plyboo is laminated bamboo flooring. 

Radiant Heated Flooring

Warmboard is a highly efficient way to heat flooring.  It uses a supply water temperature of 105° to keep the floors continously heated to 70° ambient room temperature.  This works great with geothermal heating and is great for my application in the desert because the floors can be heated at night and will cool off rather quickly in the morning as the day gets warmer…My quote from Marc Maevis at Warmboard is $6.59 a foot.  This includes the whole system..(tubing, warmboard, structural sub floor).  Most flooring applications can be directly adhered to Warmboard, if using tile you should use 1/4″ hardy backer below the tile.

warmboard-brochure

Design for the Elderly Building Systems

I found these Shipping Containers by IPort.  They come in these colors which are nice cool colors for the desert….

imodular offers parts like ADA stairs, ramps, and other accessories for modular building.

Windows should be highly efficient, Pella offers motorized skylights, dual-panel, Low-E glass, and argon filled double paned glass windows.

Design for the Elderly Technology

This home should run by itself for safety reasons….lights should turn on when the client enters a room at night, or off when they walk out to save energy.  Appliances such as the stove should not be able to run for 12 hours if the client forgets to turn off the stove after boiling water.

X10 Complete PC Home Automation is only $49.99.  There is also a system by Crestron for high-end clientele.  Another is the Life Ware system used in the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Accessibility issues are discussed in this article from Architectural Record

This house will be located in southern New Mexico in Las Cruces where Solar Power is easily available.  GE offers complete solar power systems.

Comfort pro systems offers  systems that use narrower ducts than traditional forced air systems, which makes the air flow from vents faster and thus heats or cools a room in less time.

Passive Design Implementation

Passive House Standard for Energy Efficient Design

Passive House Institute

Insulation – loose paper fill insulation

Design for the Elderly…..Site Considerations

New Mexico is a sparse area with good climate, cool desert nights and warm days.  It has a sparse population also.  The southern desert region is a great place to capture solar energy. Las Cruces, New Mexico is in this region, with regular public transportation 

Local architecture is characterized into three styles Pueblo, Territorial Style, and High Mountain Pitched Roof Style…..

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