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Design for life. AKA design for: all
Taking the smooth with the rough
A new report by The Summer Foundation provides key insights into design approaches for an inclusive model of housing for people with disability.
The Summer Foundation’s new publication, ‘New Housing Options for People with Significant Disability: Design Insights’ explains design concepts based on learnings from their housing demonstration projects in Abbotsford, Victoria and the Hunter region of NSW.
The Summer Foundation says they're developing a small number of innovative housing and support projects to demonstrate a new and more inclusive housing option for people with significant disability.
CEO Dr Di Winkler observes that their housing demonstration projects are changing thinking about housing and support for people with disabilities in Australia. A long-term vision for the organisation is for this model of integrated housing to be routinely included in all new medium and high-density residential developments throughout Australia.
Committed to widely disseminating this knowledge to encourage other organisations to replicate the model, The Summer Foundation believes their efforts will help increase the range of housing options available for young Australians living with disability, and prevent their admission into residential aged care facilities.
The report documents evolving insights about how to design housing that will support independent living among people with significant disabilities. This can be achieved through well-located, well-designed accessible and adaptable housing coupled with smart home technology and appropriate support, helping increase their quality of life and independence while also potentially reducing lifetime care costs.
The Summer Foundation acknowledges the support of the Colonial Foundation for providing the funding for the creation of the report. The full report can be downloaded free from The Summer Foundation website.
