Abstract:

Integrating supportive design features and technology into the home are excellent ways to plan to make a home "age-friendly." When an immediate need occurs for eliminating barriers in an existing home, supportive design features and technology will most often need to be examined, and some form of implementation will need to take place. While examining the interior and exterior structure of the home in a plan to create a barrier-free residence, it is important to consider the physical needs, behaviors, and lifestyle of the individual as well as the contents of the home. This article presents an activity which aims to give students with basic architectural drafting and CAD experience the opportunity to research supportive home design features and technology that could be integrated into a bathroom design for the elderly or disabled and to reinforce word processing and CAD software abilities. (Contains 8 figures.)