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House open days emphasise accessibility, safety and sustainabilityA display home built under the ‘Our Future Our Place’ program, will be open for inspection. By Latrobe City Council - 11th May 2006 - Back to News A display home built under the ‘Our Future Our Place’ program, incorporating design features that emphasise being prepared for changing needs through ageing or loss of mobility, together with features that minimise environmental impact and accentuate safety; will be open for inspection at 52 Well Street Morwell, Friday 19 May (4.30-5.15 pm) and Friday 26 May (4.30-5.15 pm).
The open days offer prospective homebuyers and renovators an opportunity to consider incorporating similar features into their own homes.
Latrobe City’s rural access officer, Bill Lawler, said our home is probably the biggest investment we will make in our lifetime, but few of us think about how suitable our home will be as we get older or if we have an injury that affects our mobility. "We seldom think about how safe our home will be or how our design could minimise the effect on the environment," Mr Lawler said.
"Housing design that incorporates environmentally sustainable, access and safety features will enhance our lifestyle, enable us to remain in our home as we age and save money associated with rebuilding and energy costs."
"The Well Street house, recently constructed in a partnership arranged between Latrobe City and Try Youth and Community Services, under a program designed to provide training and employment opportunities for young people, has also provided an opportunity to showcase environmentally sustainable, accessible and safe housing design.
"Prior to the house going to auction, Latrobe City, in partnership with Try Youth and Community Services, has arranged open days to enable the general public to view design features incorporated into the property."
Mr Lawler said that at some time in our lives, all of us will benefit from our homes being built to be accessible. "Whether it is because an elderly relative visits for a few days, age is catching up with us, an injury or illness limits our mobility, or friends with young children drop over; having a barrier free home means minimum disruptions to our lifestyle," Mr Lawler said.
"Some design features to improve the accessibility of our home could include flat access from the footpath to the house, flat entry into the house, wider doorways and hallways, a stepless shower, wheelchair accessible toilet, strengthened walls in the bathroom and toilet to enable easy installation of grab rails later on. The cost of incorporating access features into a new home is minimal compared to the cost of relocating or renovating.
"Injuries in the home are a major cause of harm and social burden in Australia. Latrobe Regional Hospital emergency data indicates that of the 16,412 presentations due to injury, 51% occurred in the home. Of these, falls are the major cause, consequently smarter design and building material choice has the potential to reduce home injury.
"Some design features to improve home safety include slip resistant flooring, ramps instead of steps, good lighting, secure storage of medication and cleaning products, ability to observe children at play, and regulation barriers to pools, spas and ponds.
"Sustainable architecture makes a contribution to society's overall sustainability as houses use less electricity and water than traditional houses. This saves the home owners money as well as reducing resource use such as power and water.
"Environmentally sustainable design features include orientation of the house to take advantage of natural heating, using flooring to store heat from the sun, collection of rain water, minimising the use of toxic materials during construction and considering the use of solar or other renewable energy sources," Mr Lawler said.
"Many of these design features can be viewed in the display home during the open days, with Latrobe City staff on hand to provide additional information about environmentally sustainable, accessible and safe housing design," Mr Lawler added.
For further information about the open days, please contact Bill Lawler at Latrobe City, telephone 1300 367 700.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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