We understand residents who are seeking accessible homes already face numerous challenges in their day-to-day lives. Our goal is to design accessible spaces that minimize these challenges and promote the highest quality of life and a sense of independence in everyday living. We prioritize creating both indoor and outdoor spaces that are conducive to varying gathering sizes and movement abilities while minimizing excessive ramping or paved surfaces.
There are a variety of standards that regulate the requirements for designing spaces that promote equal access for varying abilities including Fair Housing regulations, ADA, ANSI 117, Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), and Universal Design standards. Meeting these regulations can often be challenging, but we believe they can be an excellent opportunity to provide housing equality to all residents and visitors. Following and adapting to these regulations inspires our architects to be creative in the design process and deliver solutions that serve all abilities.
The above sink has been lowered in a clubhouse kitchen for increased accessibility.
Although the different classifications of accessible homes can vary within a multifamily community, most homes do not require much more space than a standard kitchen or bathroom. The clearances required for these homes make the space more adaptable for people of all abilities, ensuring a functional arrangement that can be well utilized by everyone. Designing spaces that are adaptable to changing needs allows residents the ability to remain in their homes despite changes in health and mobility.
These are removable cabinets with a shallow roll-under sink. The adjacent cabinet is removable and can be lowered into a work surface.
The biggest challenge in designing for accessibility in multifamily projects is creating accessible routes throughout the community. It is critical to provide easy access for people of all abilities to fully utilize all amenity spaces. One of our team’s favorite challenges is designing a swimming pool that can be used by many different ages and abilities. This is an example in which we consider specific pool depths, layouts, and entry points. In a previous project, the first apartment leased was a fully accessible home because the resident fell in love with the ramp access to the pool!
Accessible pool entrance at the Goose Creek Apartments Project in Fishersville, Virginia.
It is no surprise that amidst a pandemic people are spending much more time in their homes. Overall human beings spend a significant amount of time indoors, meaning the air we breathe is a lot less healthy and could affect our overall well-being later in life. This reason alone is enough to stress the importance of hiring a designer who understands building science- it can make the difference between a healthy home or one that has the potential to make you and your family sick.
There are certain factors that can impact the air we breathe, one of those being a fireplace. This element leaves an opening in your home that can pull dirty air into the home from the fireplace itself or the building envelope. According to the United States, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) microparticles in wood-burning fireplaces can cause bronchitis, asthma, and other respiratory issues in children and the elderly. A safe alternative for this would be using a vented gas fireplace, this eliminates the need for wood and other natural materials along with pushing out the harmful exhaust. Speaking with your architect about a ventilated fireplace in the home design process can make all the difference in the air you will breathe every day.
The foundation is in on this tight and steep lot off of Hillcrest in Harrisonburg. Herr and Company said yes to build this beautiful cottage on a challenging lot. If you met our clients, you would know why. They are simply wonderful people to work with and for. Last year created a lot of obstacles in the design world and communicating with clients became more challenging. However, these clients made the process enjoyable as we worked against a rising tide of construction costs to find the just-right size Hillcrest Cottage solution for them.
The opportunity to work with all my clients is a gift. I get to do what I love and they pay me to do it – what an amazing concept. These clients added to the enjoyment of the design process always seeing the silver lining in the challenges we faced from the slope of the lot to the pandemic. The Hillcrest Cottage went through several forms in order to find the right solution and I am thrilled with what is taking shape on the site now.
With any design project, there are steps that you have to go through to find the right final solution. While every project is custom and there is not an exact playbook, one thing remains constant, a quality team of clients, architects, and contractors is the only way to develop the most economical solution for a home that enhances livability, durability, indoor environmental quality, and energy efficiency. The Hillcrest Cottage will feature southern-facing solar panels, an open floor plan, and aging-in-place features making it a home for a lifetime.
Each month since April 2020 the Central Virginia Construction Specification Institute Chapter has hosted online seminars to promote communication within the industry. This important task of sharing information, having discussions, and learning from each other is the core reason CSI exists, to build a stronger industry. This month we are thrilled to welcome Chris Shifflett, PE, CHFM, LEED AP to discuss how post-pandemicindoor air quality will be viewed, understood, and controlled.
Summary: This session will consist of the following topics: Overview of air cleaning technologies, most common and widely used technologies (UV light and Bi-polar ionization), Filtration (MERV & HEPA), code required minimum ventilation, and ASHRAE and CDC recommendations.
Chris joined Blauch Brothers in 2017 and is currently the Mechanical Engineering manager. Before Blauch, he has a diverse background in HVAC and plumbing industries. He has held positions such as pipefitter, MEP consulting engineer, health care facility engineer, and professional engineer for other mechanical contractors. Through his past experience with health care facilities, indoor air quality focus is nothing new to him.
We have never thought so much about theair we breathe as we do now. After a year of working remotely, I returned to the office this week, sharing space with four other businesses. I also had a few people drop-in, from delivery drivers to clients to friends that I had not seen in a year. This was a huge change after a year of almost never leaving my house. Of course, after this past year of a virus that spreads through airborne particles, this is a huge change. The air we breathe has a direct impact on our health and therefore the design of our buildings matters.
Indoor air can be very unhealthy, even outside of virus spread. Smoke, mold, and chemicals along with other people contribute to what is in your air. All of these things in your air can be harmful to human health. When you think of air pollution you often think about smokestacks on industrial building sites or car exhaust. However, that is just a small part of the picture.
The air in your home comes in and gets trapped inside. It comes in when you open doors and windows of course, but it also comes in through your walls, crawl space, and attic. When the wind blows on one side of your home that exterior wall becomes positive pressure and the opposite wall becomes negative pressure. This pulls and pushes air through every gap and cracks in your house. This makes your insulation, carpet, drywall gaps, window edges your air filter – air filters that never get changed or cleaned.
Air is lazy, it looks for the easy path to escape. Easy gaps like electrical outlets, light switches, attic access all become paths for air to come into the house, bringing with it humidity, spiders, pollen, dust, and dirt. Your ductwork run in unconditioned spaces also becomes a conduit for dirty air bypassing the filter intended to clean your air.
Chemicals in your building products are released into your air and you breathe them in. NO-VOC paints have become really popular, but not the only option. Off-gassing from glues, furniture, clothing, cabinets, paints, cleaning supplies, detergents, and even food are released into the air of your home causing a chemical cocktail that has impacts on your health.
When we design a custom home I always encourage our clients to allow us to write a project manual setting the performance standards for the HVAC system, airtightness of the thermal envelope and protects the inhabitants of the home. This performance standard is a critical element to protect the homeowner and to set the standards for the builder to complete. Without this document, you are leaving these performance standards to the builder and his subcontractors. While they may also be very concerned about indoor air quality, their priority is to make sure you are comfortable which is the source of most client’s perception of quality. We need to raise the bar and also talk about the air we breathe and the importance of setting high standards for indoor environmental quality.
