This is the lovely spiral staircase in the Vatican Museum, which I didn't know existed until it was brought to my attention by the glorious Google image search. I hope I get a chance to visit this before I get too old or to incapicated to climb stairs. Barrier free design has been one of the most significant movements in architecture in the past few decades, probably the most significant in terms of changing the built landscape. Curiously, residential architecture is still neglecting it. Some of this is driven by money--a two story house provides greater economy in terms of land use, foundation use and public/private separation. Also, the more generous circulation spaces that are now required in public and commercial architecture would be interpreted as wasted space by a homeowner--a five foot wide hallway or accessible bathroom would impose real costs on most people. The greater impediment to progress is the condition of unhampered mobility that our normally healthy bodies provide us. We design and build houses for the 80-90% of our lives when we don't have significant mobility issues. I'm not sure how to make progress in this area. I have worked with a fair number of elderly clients, and the prudent ones have opted towards ground floor master bedrooms with large bedrooms and closets, but this choice is open to only the very wealthy. The increased space is a function of wealth with a coincidental effect of providing for a more accessible future.
No comments:
Post a Comment