My dear mother, who will turn 80 this year was a hardcore hiker all her life (the whole day up and down, come valley, come peak). Last year’s heart attack reduced her stamina to one-hour-strolls and made her also think about priorities in life. Yet one thought was absolute clear to her: “I want to be able to care for myself (independently) as long as I live in my own apartment!”
Being not only “the son” but also an architect as well, I studied the existing lay-out, especially the bathroom.
What we found as the base for re-modelling it into a wheelchair-accessible one:
- A typical floor plan for a 2BHK apartment in Germany, when built in the mid 80’s.
- The bathroom with a bathtub and a hand-wash basin has an area of 53 sq.ft.
- The toilet is separated from the bathroom and has an area of 16 sq.ft.
- The doors have a clear width of 2,5 ft. and both open towards the inside of the rooms.
- There is a central duct for sewage down pipes and water supply as well.
What we will change:
- Merge the bath room, the toilet and the small passage into ONE large bathroom of now 83 sq.ft.
- Use sliding doors only with a clear width of 3 ft. (which is required for entering with a wheelchair).
- Turn the former toilet into a spacious walk-in shower.
- Add safety features like a hand rail, a fold-able seat and non-slippery tiles.
- Remove the bath tub and put instead a wall hung toilet (always preferred to have it close to the duct).
- There will be fold-able handle on one side of the toilet bowl and a grab rail on the other.
- The flush button is comfortable placed towards the left side (and not behind as usual).
- The height of the new wash basin is wheelchair-adjusted and features touchless faucets.
Like mentioned before the main goal is: “Be able to care for yourself independently” and live in your own apartment as long as possible!
If you have any requirements regarding remodeling your home, so that it becomes senior-suitable, just call our
Business Development Manager, Ms. Sadhana Kembhave +919545622295
We will design a kind home for you, too!
Head Designer at organic Arts+Architecture
P.S.: See also our posts on LinkedIn regarding architecture for 60+ citizens :
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ripe-rather-than-wither-joachim-haider
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ripe-rather-than-wither-part-2-joachim-haider
and our previous posts in the blog archive: http://organic-architecture.com/blog/?cat=18
