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According to a recent National Association Home Builder’s forecast, there will be 85.3 million Americans ages 55 and older by 2014, over one-quarter of the total population. The demand for housing for the 50+ market will continue to grow, although this segment has been impacted by current economic conditions and the housing downturn.

Since affordable housing is getting more difficult for the average homebuyer to attain, modular construction offers one possible approach that may provide this opportunity and is an option more suitable for the global environment as well. In modular construction, components for a house or building are built in a factory or another controlled setting, transported, and assembled at the site.

Modular homes or prefabricated homes can readily accommodate the principles of universal design. It features universal design features such as wider hallways, lever handles, larger doorways, varying height kitchen counters, curbless showers, , anti-scald controls, handheld showers, grab bars,  more space to maneuver in kitchens and baths, and easy to reach thermostats. A modular home that features universal design will meet a family’s needs now and in the future, allowing seniors and people with disabilities to age in place.

Of course, modular construction has had its problems over the years, conjuring up images of low quality and cheap productions. While the stigma remains, it’s lessening. Today, modular represents a viable approach to residential construction, especially if it continues to evolve as it has been doing over the last few years.

Experts liken the modular building industry to the automobile industry. In 1908, Henry Ford revolutionized the production of the automobile by introducing the efficiencies of assembly line manufacturing—an innovation allowing him to significantly decrease its cost, making it available to the general public. Virtually every other major industry has been automated in the last 100 years, except construction.

To date, it has only captured a tiny fraction of both the commercial and residential real estate market. According to the Modular Building Systems Association (MBSA), representing the modular housing industry, only 2% of homes are modular. But today’s sour economy has caused people to take a second look at the construction industry as whole and realized some of the inefficiencies in it and consider some of alternatives like modular.

Despite its slow growth, modular construction has the potential to be a growth sector that can supplant the traditional housing delivery systems and provide another alternative for seniors who wish to age-in-place.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

The latest edition of The Forever Home is now available online. For those of you who are new to our blog, our quarterly e-newsletter provides you with insightful information, valuable advice, and helpful tips to assist you to age-in-place comfortably and independently.

In this issue, you’ll read about the recent AARP’s Aging-in-Place videos which we participated in to help raise awareness on how to make your home safer as you age. The 3-part series of short video clips showcases Ross and Anna, a couple in their 70s who are making changes to their home so they can age in place. AARP invited us to visit the home of this couple to make some simple kitchen, bathroom, and home interior/exterior fixes at low-to-no cost.

According to the online health care Web site, HealthCommentary.org, our current health care system is not well equipped to address the immediate demands of a rapidly aging population. In our article, Technology Continues to Advance Home-Centered Health Care, you’ll read why experts are recommending that we place a stronger emphasis on prevention and wellness.

We’ll also take you behind the scenes of a nursing home. One medical student documented her time inside a nursing home to better understand what it’s like for an aging person who is living in one. The theory behind the program is that if future doctors can better understand how seniors live and what they go through on a daily basis, then those doctors can better treat and care for older patients because they have truly walked in their shoes. As an added bonus, the program hopes to inspire and steer medical students to choose geriatric care as their focus. This specialization is in near desperate need of new doctors.

Finally, our country’s general awareness of green practices is growing at an almost fever-pitched rate. This is a result of the now more accepted reality of the dangers and undeniable negative effects that global warming can have on our future. In addition, there has been an expansion of political and social pressures on us to modify our overall consumption behaviors.

We hope that you enjoy this issue. Please feel free to forward our newsletter to your friends and families. We invite you to email us at hburns@homeevolutions.com with your comments, suggestions, and any story ideas that would help The Forever Home better meet your specific needs.

In a recent article by Michael Chandler for Green Building Advisor (GBA), he discusses a design trend that combines green or environmentally conscious and sustainable considerations with aging-in-place inspired modifications. He explains, “I see a trend toward working with what we have come to call ‘empty-nesters.’ These are usually couples with older children who are ready to make a fresh start with a smaller, more energy-efficient, ‘green’ and low-maintenance home to which their kids only visit for family reunions.”

He adds that these empty-nesters are also considering the fact that older grandparents may come to stay for extended periods. Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designated remodelers like Home Evolutions can help people plan for their aging-in-place needs by making certain assumptions—like the fact that the owners may gradually begin to lose their sight and mobility.

According to Chandler, sometimes such foresight goes unrecognized until these modifications for independence are needed. “One of the kindest compliments that I have received was, ‘Your design solved problems we didn’t know we had.’ As designers, we can best serve our clients by helping them address future needs that they may not be considering going into the design process.”

Chandler believes that when designing a sustainable home, it is arguably more important to focus on aging-in-place and handicap “visitable” design than payback or resale value. For example, visitable design may include a sheltered, step-free entry, and guest rooms that can accommodate a children’s play area or a study, as well as a mother-in-law suite plus a walker-friendly master suite. “Our goal is to present all the potential lifestyle options they may need in their home in the future. An aging-in-place design can accommodate all age groups.”

In addition to the many benefits of aging-in-place design, combining it with green or sustainable modifications offers another bonus—long-term financial savings. Chandler explains, “When clients question us about green payback calculations, we ask them to consider the probable cost of fuel in five or ten years and also what they picture their lifestyle will be at that time. We do this to drive home the advantage of knowing they will have more financial security in the future by minimizing their energy costs now, as well as to open the conversation to how their needs will evolve over time.” He adds that looking at the “big picture” during the design process can help identify low- or no-cost options that will save big in the years to come.

Adding aging-in-place sensibilities to the green design process means that in addition to the resource efficiency, durability, and indoor air quality standards, home modifiers will be adding some design criteria to the mix. Chalmers concludes that a big part of aging-in-place design is helping people feel the emotional security that they are still in control of their lives and can continue living at home.

Read more about green design and aging-in-place modifications in the next and upcoming issue of The Forever Home.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

An article by John P. S. Salmen in the October 2009 issue of the Universal Design Newsletter discusses the greenness or eco-friendly possibilities of universal design.

It is a well known fact that the public’s general awareness of green practices is growing at an almost fever-pitched rate. This is a result of the now more accepted reality of the dangers and undeniable negative effects that global warming can have on our future. In addition, there has been an expansion of political and social pressures on us to modify our overall consumption behaviors.

Salmen believes that students and implementers of universal design see green universal design as a natural result of the growing movement of green design practices. His article considers how green design and universal design can ultimately and effectively relate to one another. Valerie Fletcher and Elaine Ostroff of the Institute for Human Centered Design, along with Eric Mikiten, AIA, of the Bay Area Committee on the Environment (COTE), all believe that the two concepts of universal design and green design are both directly connected to the sustainability movement.

Offering support of this contention, the Department of Public Works of Queensland, Australia (DPW) designed a logo for its “Smart House” program that communicates how these three universal design leaders actually visualize the “three–legged stool of sustainable design.”

The DPW’s educational logo is divided into three triangles of sustainability:  environmental, economic, and social. It illustrates how universal design is a basic element of sustainable design as it relates to resource efficiency and economic empowerment under the umbrella of these three areas (triangles):

• Environmental Sustainability relates to the green movement, natural resource conservation, and efficiency.

• Economic Sustainability relates to concepts of life-cycle costing, equity, and fair-trade value of products and services.

• Social Sustainability relates to systems that support people by creating safe, secure, and independent communities.

Salmen goes on to explain that just like green design, universal design must also be an integral part of design programming and the imaginative design process. In other words, it cannot simply be left as a minimal add-on for compliance or as an afterthought.

He also states that aging-in-place independence can be naturally extended by universal design. “The obvious example is aging-in-place, which is facilitated by universally designed homes and communities.”

Remodeling companies like Home Evolutions can incorporate green universal design into aging-in-place home modifications. This can allow you to remain living comfortably, safely, and independently in your home for as long as possible—while living an environmentally-sustainable lifestyle! Contact us today for an assessment.

Read more about this story in the next and upcoming issue of The Forever Home!

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.