We design architecture for all: inclusive, barrier free and participatory
Bee
Why would you choose to build your own house? As architects there is always a desire to create the spaces that you dream of, but this isn’t necessarily enough to give the impetus to actually start such a demanding project.
Greta
But what if most places you went to worked against you moving easily around it, every entrance was an obstacle to getting into the building, and every space had been designed with a mobile, upright person in mind?
Castelvecchio Verona – Bee
For our seven year old daughter, Greta, this is a daily occurrence: she cannot yet walk on her own, so she has a collection of wheeled buggies and a bicycle. As architects, we spend a lot of time visiting buildings, and as a child in a family of architects she and her sister have learnt to love exploring different spaces and places with us. And there are many that she loves being in. But many of them seem to have been designed specifically to hinder anyone who is not conventionally mobile. There are so many missed opportunities in our architectural spaces and places.
Gormley City Greta
So when we realised that Greta would need to live in a very supportive environment, we knew that was something that we could offer her. And it has been very exciting realising that an inclusive, barrier-free house is not just about being able to get from one floor to the other, or from the kitchen to the bedroom; when you consider movement around a house in a whole new way, it also offers a richness of experience of spaces that is beneficial to everyone.
Rem slope Bee
Bee
Why would you choose to build your own house? As architects there is always a desire to create the spaces that you dream of, but this isn’t necessarily enough to give the impetus to actually start such a demanding project.
Greta
But what if most places you went to worked against you moving easily around it, every entrance was an obstacle to getting into the building, and every space had been designed with a mobile, upright person in mind?
Castelvecchio Verona – Bee
For our seven year old daughter, Greta, this is a daily occurrence: she cannot yet walk on her own, so she has a collection of wheeled buggies and a bicycle. As architects, we spend a lot of time visiting buildings, and as a child in a family of architects she and her sister have learnt to love exploring different spaces and places with us. And there are many that she loves being in. But many of them seem to have been designed specifically to hinder anyone who is not conventionally mobile. There are so many missed opportunities in our architectural spaces and places.
Gormley City Greta
So when we realised that Greta would need to live in a very supportive environment, we knew that was something that we could offer her. And it has been very exciting realising that an inclusive, barrier-free house is not just about being able to get from one floor to the other, or from the kitchen to the bedroom; when you consider movement around a house in a whole new way, it also offers a richness of experience of spaces that is beneficial to everyone.
Rem slope Bee
