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Wounded Warrior - Designing Homes for the Disabled

The soldiers find workarounds to cope with their surroundings based on individual capabilities and preferences. Clark Realty Capital believed there had to be a better solution. The Virginia-based real estate firm, which is partnered with the Department of Defense on more than $4.7 billion of privatized housing for service members, collaborated with IDEO on a new model for building accessible homes on military installations.

The challenge was to visualize and design the ideal home for soldiers injured in the field. The effort included floor plans and amenities that would not only meet or exceed ADA standards, but also be versatile enough to accommodate varied physical and psychological needs. Clark commissioned Michael Graves & Associates to develop architectural plans for two concept homes, which needed to support family dynamics and rituals and be able to evolve over time and with technology.

The IDEO design team took an in-depth look at accessibility issues, interviewing and observing 10 civilians and 20 injured soldiers with different needs, meeting with their loved ones, and getting feedback from nearly two dozen experts. The team asked questions that shed light on how active duty service members resume civilian life after debilitating injuries, what could make their experience more dignified and healthy, and what might reconnect them with family, close friends, and the world. Ultimately, IDEO and Clark went well beyond understanding soldiers’ physical limitations to consider their cognitive and emotional challenges and needs as well.

How can we design dignity into the design of new voting experiences?

Comments

Stacy Morton

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February 13, 2012, 12:47AM

As an architect, this is truly an inspiring story. I am really impressed with IDEO taking on such challenge. This just shows how small design moves can make large differences; and that every design must stem from a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, not just cosmetic. As designers, I think we have the potential to design outcomes that surpass the user's expectations, and this is a case that proves just that. Thank you for this project!

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Mike McDearmon

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January 31, 2012, 06:00AM

In the video I was particularly struck by Shannon's experiences getting her hair done at home because she didn't want to deal with the stress and self-consciousness she felt going to a salon. I wonder how many people don't cast their ballots for similar reasons?

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molly oberholtzer

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January 25, 2012, 05:22AM

So glad you posted this! I was very interested in this project when I first saw it on ideo's website. Dignity certainly deserves to be emboldened in this challenge. I posted a comment regarding it on "Portland Used iPads for Accessible Voting Before It Was Cool" from a quote I read in metropolis magazine's article about ideo's project--
 "Wounded veterans don’t want to be coddled, they want to be challenged. They need homes that help them reclaim control, that don’t make them feel different from their wives and children."

dignity is so crucial to enthusiastic participation, I'm glad you focused in on that I hope many are inspired by this great contribution!

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