Building for the physically challenged

By LYDIA LIMBE

Take a minute to look around your house, or at your building plans. What if today, God forbid, you were to lose your physical ability to move freely? Either you lose your sight, arms or legs. Or you were to live in that house in your old age. Would the design of your house be friendly to your physical challenge?

My bet is that the answer for many would be no. Many houses are designed in a way that does not factor in the needs of the physically challenged.

Esther Musau, an architect who also lectures at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), says that while designing for a physically challenged person, space is key.

“The major issue for physically challenged persons is ease of movement from one room to another and even to the different floor levels. And this usually takes up more space than that of a normal person,” says Musau.

Since 1998 when Esther started practising as an architect, she has only designed three houses for physically challenged persons.

She says many physically challenged people move in wheelchairs. There thus, has to be gentle slopes where there would be steps. If the person has to move on the upper floors, there should be wheelchair ramps.

“From my experience, building a ramp requires a lot of space as it has to be gentle enough to allow a physically challenged person to move on his or her own. For every one metre of height, you need six metres of horizontal length,” she says.

Ramps

Most often, you find that many do not construct ramps due to the huge amount of space required to have a smooth one.

Even though Franklin Kibuka, the director of Excuss Project Managers has not had the opportunity to handle a project for a physically challenged person, he says one can fully fit the ground floor of their home so that the physically challenged person does not have to change floors; he or she can access everything they need on this level if the house is a maisonette.

“What is popularly designated as a guest wing can easily become your master bedroom. Instead of designing it for a few days of usage by the guest, design it as if you will use it for long term. This way, you will consider adequate spacing that may be of use,” says Kibuka.

This means that while building your own home, you need to consider the space requirements for the person using a wheelchair.

“For the houses I’ve designed, the doors are a minimum of one metre wide. It is advisable that sanitary doors open to the outside of the room, with a 1.5 square metres space in the bathroom to allow for the person to do a 360-degree turn within the facility,” says Musau.

Normally, the corridor width is 1.5 metres wide. But it needs to be wider for a person on a wheelchair, between 1.8 and 2.4 metres. Fredrick Makai, an interior designer who has also not had the chance of working on a project of this nature, says the wide corridors is equally good for a blind person who uses a cane to know which part of the house they are in.

“The wide space would allow for a smooth bend. You can either have the edge of walls have different textures, or even on the skirting of the floor, so that they know where exactly they are in the room or house,” says Makai.

“You should also avoid low-hanging items. Keep the arrangement of the house as it is because blind people get around by learning the space. In the kitchen, have designated places for each item. If something is moved, they should be told,” notes Kibuka.

The whole point in making these adjustments is to have the physically challenged person move with ease and restore their dignity in the process. Part of that is making the kitchen and bathroom friendly to them.

“You have to take into account the nature of the disability and adapt the house around it. In the bathroom, have enough space such that one can ease himself from the wheelchair onto the toilet seat and back as easily as possible,” says Makai.

Grab bars

“Have grab bars that the person can hold. In the bathroom, have the shower cubicle open with a slight slope to direct the water flow into the drainage. Also make use of bathtubs and low-level toilet seats,” Musau says.

Even the height of storage shelves has to be put into consideration. Overhead storage needs to be lower than the normal height of 90 centimetres to between 75 centimetres and 80 centimetres high. Worktop heights are reduced from the standard 2.1 metres to 2.4 metres to 1.4 metres high.

A lot of thought needs to go into landscaping. Musau advises the use of a lot of colour, smell and texture to activate the senses, since the garden experience will most likely be while the person is seated.

Garden

“In the absence of a garden space, a verandah is a must as it enables the person to break the monotony of being indoors all the time and experience the environment,” says Musau.

She adds: “But if you have a garden, introduce plants and flowers that have different colours and scents. The sheer difference in sight and sense of smell will be a welcome change from the daily hustle as well as being indoors.”

In one of the three designs that Esther was involved in from scratch, the client wanted a swimming pool, which was designed with a ramp easing into it as opposed to the steps and/or ladder. She says also the windows and various fixtures, including light switch, water taps as well as door knobs were installed within a workable height for the physically challenged.  

“Have windows very low, so that the physically challenged person can interact with the outside world with ease,” concurs Frederick Muchiri, an interior designer.

Be careful with the choice of floor finish. If a ramp has been installed, use non-slip tiles or rubber finish, depending on the aesthetics desired and of course the budget.

Esther shares that in her experience during the three designs, she noted that physically challenged people also have friends who have the same challenges. With this in mind, she had to design the house with enough social space for them to interact with ease.

 “While planning to design a house to cater for these needs, you need to create additional space for them all to move freely with their wheelchairs without bumping into each other. That’s an additional 1.5 square metres — and you can make it as big as budget and space allows,” adds Esther.

“Do not forget the parking space. The normal parking space is usually 2.5 metres, but you have to factor in an additional 1.5 metres to allow them disembark from the car with ease,” says Musau.

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