This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Universal Design .
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Hello fellow Architects, The second webinar in our series was attended by about 800. It was an experienced audience, with 75% of the architects practicing for 15 years or more. We had many questions and not enough time to answer them all. I will post your questions and some answers here in the next few weeks.
Julie Cecere asked " Is it necessary to have a 5' diameter turning radius in a residential bathroom?" This is a good question and not a simple one to answer. Firstly, the ADA standard 5' radius is a good guideline to start designing with. However, since only a small % of the population uses wheelchairs, it is often not enough. It is important to design "Beyond the ADA" and think about creating residential bathrooms that are safe for people AND their caregivers. A large part of the population is aging and will be using assistive mobility devices, like walkers or need some help from another person.
Please see the House Evaluation Checklist - available to download at http://homefreehome.org/
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Laura Montllor Architect
HomeFreeHome.org
Port Washington NY
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