A House Whose Time Has Come

A new "User-Friendly House" in British Columbia embraces the future -- affordably. And the market for this kind of barrier-free, adaptable and automated housing could explode.

Some day, all homes will be built this way.

It sounds like just another sales pitch for another model home. Yet if the demographers and technology experts are right, every architect and builder in Canada should be aware of the benefits of offering homes like the one just built in Maple Ridge, a community 40 km east of Vancouver.

The User-Friendly House, a cooperative effort between Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and a British Columbia company called Adaptable Housing Ltd., is a 2,400-square-foot, detached, single-dwelling house in a tract housing development. Far from being some futuristic creation, it looks like any other house in the neighbourhood.

So what’s the big deal? Why does this house hold such great market potential?

First, some introductory words from the demographers: Today, 4.2 million Canadians have some form of disability. Moreover, the "baby boom" will soon become a "senior surge," as the bulk of Canada’s population ages. By 2031, the number of people over the age of 75 will have increased from 1.3 million today to over 4.4 million.

Technology experts also have a few things to say. The brave new emerging technologies, including the much-talked-about information superhighway, will make the lives of many Canadians more secure, comfortable and fulfilling. Yet today’s homes are simply not equipped to embrace the full potential of all the new technology.

The User-Friendly House meets demographic and technology trends head-on -- in an era in which people want it all, but only if it’s cost effective.

So what, exactly, characterizes this User-Friendly House? Let’s visit one...

As we walk up to the house at night, motion detectors turn on outside lights for both security and convenience. Inside, the owner, who happens to be watching TV upstairs, sees an onÄscreen "doorbell" signal and flips the channel to view a video image of us at the door. Recognizing us, he chooses a command option at his fingertips, unlocks the door and tells us to come in.

Upon entering, we hear the owner’s voice again on the intercom, telling us he’ll be right down to see us. Moments later, our friend, who uses a wheelchair, comes out of the elevator and greets us. He explains how easy it was to adapt the downstairs and upstairs closets for an elevator when he and his family moved here a year ago. (The previous owners got an especially good price for this home because of its user-friendly features.)

As he gives us a tour of his home, our friend tells us that the reinforced walls of the User-Friendly House allowed for easy installation of handrails and grab bars. We notice that the whole house is barrier-free: wide hallways and doorways, no door sills. As we enter dark rooms, sensors automatically turn on the lights.
Our friend explains that the User-Friendly House features the Smart-Com wiring system, which enables an integrated house-wide, computer-controlled network to regulate all temperature, ventilation, electrical and natural lighting and audio/video controls. This, he explains, is the nerve centre for the User-Friendly House, and it is able to meet both current technology needs and future ones -- voice-activated "butler" commands, for example.

The User-Friendly House opened in Maple Ridge, British Columbia on June 15, and remains open for public viewing, tours, demonstrations and seminars from June to September.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this house, according to staff from Adaptable Housing Ltd. and CMHC, is the cost. The project was undertaken to prove that the incremental costs of building a barrier-free, adaptable, automated house with good market potential are relatively modest, yet such housing offers tremendous benefits to growing numbers of Canada’s population. People with disabilities and seniors share many common needs and concerns which the User-Friendly House meets: access, safety, security, convenience and comfort.

Forward-looking builders and architects will be wise to heed the opportunities that this demonstration house provides.

(For more information about the User-Friendly House, contact your local office of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or call the National Office at (613) 748-2367.)
A new "User-Friendly House" in British Columbia embraces the future -- affordably. And the market for this kind of barrier-free, adaptable and automated housing could explode.

Some day, all homes will be built this way.

It sounds like just another sales pitch for another model home. Yet if the demographers and technology experts are right, every architect and builder in Canada should be aware of the benefits of offering homes like the one just built in Maple Ridge, a community 40 km east of Vancouver.

The User-Friendly House, a cooperative effort between Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and a British Columbia company called Adaptable Housing Ltd., is a 2,400-square-foot, detached, single-dwelling house in a tract housing development. Far from being some futuristic creation, it looks like any other house in the neighbourhood.

So what’s the big deal? Why does this house hold such great market potential?

First, some introductory words from the demographers: Today, 4.2 million Canadians have some form of disability. Moreover, the "baby boom" will soon become a "senior surge," as the bulk of Canada’s population ages. By 2031, the number of people over the age of 75 will have increased from 1.3 million today to over 4.4 million.

Technology experts also have a few things to say. The brave new emerging technologies, including the much-talked-about information superhighway, will make the lives of many Canadians more secure, comfortable and fulfilling. Yet today’s homes are simply not equipped to embrace the full potential of all the new technology.

The User-Friendly House meets demographic and technology trends head-on -- in an era in which people want it all, but only if it’s cost effective.

So what, exactly, characterizes this User-Friendly House? Let’s visit one...

As we walk up to the house at night, motion detectors turn on outside lights for both security and convenience. Inside, the owner, who happens to be watching TV upstairs, sees an onÄscreen "doorbell" signal and flips the channel to view a video image of us at the door. Recognizing us, he chooses a command option at his fingertips, unlocks the door and tells us to come in.

Upon entering, we hear the owner’s voice again on the intercom, telling us he’ll be right down to see us. Moments later, our friend, who uses a wheelchair, comes out of the elevator and greets us. He explains how easy it was to adapt the downstairs and upstairs closets for an elevator when he and his family moved here a year ago. (The previous owners got an especially good price for this home because of its user-friendly features.)

As he gives us a tour of his home, our friend tells us that the reinforced walls of the User-Friendly House allowed for easy installation of handrails and grab bars. We notice that the whole house is barrier-free: wide hallways and doorways, no door sills. As we enter dark rooms, sensors automatically turn on the lights.
Our friend explains that the User-Friendly House features the Smart-Com wiring system, which enables an integrated house-wide, computer-controlled network to regulate all temperature, ventilation, electrical and natural lighting and audio/video controls. This, he explains, is the nerve centre for the User-Friendly House, and it is able to meet both current technology needs and future ones -- voice-activated "butler" commands, for example.

The User-Friendly House opened in Maple Ridge, British Columbia on June 15, and remains open for public viewing, tours, demonstrations and seminars from June to September.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this house, according to staff from Adaptable Housing Ltd. and CMHC, is the cost. The project was undertaken to prove that the incremental costs of building a barrier-free, adaptable, automated house with good market potential are relatively modest, yet such housing offers tremendous benefits to growing numbers of Canada’s population. People with disabilities and seniors share many common needs and concerns which the User-Friendly House meets: access, safety, security, convenience and comfort.

Forward-looking builders and architects will be wise to heed the opportunities that this demonstration house provides.

(For more information about the User-Friendly House, contact your local office of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or call the National Office at (613) 748-2367.)