Current at: 19 July 2012
Universal housing design - What does it mean? (Nat)
Universal Housing Design means designing a house to meet the changing needs of occupants across their lifetime. It recommends the inclusion of key easy living features that can help to make a home easier and safer to use for everyone including: people with disability, ageing Australians, people with temporary injuries, and families with young children.
A universally designed home should:
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be easy to enter;
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be easy to move in and around;
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be capable of easy and cost-effective adaptation; and
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be designed to anticipate and respond to the changing needs of home occupants.
A universally designed home seeks to enhance the quality of life for all occupants at all stages of their life by including safer and more user friendly design features.
What are some examples of universal design features?
As part of the HIA GreenSmart program, HIA has identified ten universal design features that can be voluntarily included in a new home and can be considered when making changes to an existing home.
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Provide a continuous pathway from the street or car parking area to an entrance of the dwelling.
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Provide at least one covered level entry area (doorway) into the home with a clear opening of 820mm.
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Incorporate a bathroom, living space and bedroom on the entrance level of the home.
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Incorporate reinforcing in the bathroom walls to allow future installation of grab rails in the shower and adjacent to the toilet or install grab rails.
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Have a hobless/step free shower recess and an adjustable/detachable hand held shower rose.
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Provide internal doorways a minimum clear opening of 820mm and corridors of 1 metre.
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Design kitchen cupboards and benches layout to allow bench and cupboard heights to be adjusted easily and the kitchen layout to be altered to provide sufficient space for movement by restricted mobility occupants.
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Include a bench area adjoining the oven and cook top to allow easy placement of hot pots and pans; include a power point within 300mm of the front of the kitchen bench; and include a slip resistance flooring.
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Provide lever style door handles and lever/mixer style tap ware.
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Install light switches near the doorway at a height between 900mm and 1100mm.
Where can you find out more?
HIA is a member of the National Dialogue on Universal Housing Design established by the Federal Government. The National Dialogue has published a set of “Livable Home Design Guidelines’ that provide more details on how to design these features in a home.
A copy of the Guidelines is available from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
For more information about HIA GreenSmart or Universal Design, HIA members can contact the HIA Planning Services advisor in your region.
Ref No. NAT GEN 10-17
The above is intended to provide general information in summary form. The contents do not constitute specific advice and should not be relied upon as such. Formal specific advice should be sought by members with respect to particular matters before taking action. ABN 99 004 631 752