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| ONE LIFE, ONE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE ACCESSIBLE IN-BETWEEN |
When I started my M.Arch the fall of 2003 I “knew
exactly” what my thesis was going to be about, I
was going to demolish my childhood home and
incorporate handicap standards in the design. I
thought life was great. I only needed to finish the
first four years, and I was going to work in this
design. Four years later, the time arrived, I was
asked to briefly describe what my thesis was going
| OPENING STATEMENT |
to be about, and to look for some sources related to the topic. I had 20 minutes to do so and
believe or not, I had NO idea what my thesis was going to be about. I wrote and got the sources
for two different topics:
• Universal design: adaptability of a house, first home owners to empty-nesters, rooms,
taking into consideration accessibility, and;
• Integration of flat roofs in different climates, other uses, expansion, gardens, connections.
I am sure you are asking how this happened, if before I “knew exactly” what my thesis was
going to be about. You guessed it, I learned in the past four years that my thesis was going to
be directed by design research and not what I can design and construct in two semesters. A
big misconception I had every time I thought about thesis work. Now, you know that when I big
misconception I had every time I thought about thesis work. Now, you know that when I started
studying architecture, I was not really sure what I was getting into. A wall for me was a bunch of
blocks one on top of the other with some finishing material (I did not know what) and some
paint. I never imagined a common house in the United States was composed of “wood sticks”,
and they want them to stay in place when the weather changes or worsens!
Do not worry, I have learned more than that in the past years. I was taught the importance of
architectural research and theory. I learned to be an Architect, with all the implication the
profession entitles; including the big question that is still pending “What my thesis is going to be
about?”. Well, I argue that adequately housing the elderly requires designing neighborhoods
for an intergenerational community . And I can see you are puzzled about it. You are thinking,
first she was going to demolish a house and now she is talking about some rhetorical questions
regarding the elderly people. How does this come about? Again, you guessed it; I was helped
to contextualize the reason why I want it to demolish the house. My main idea was to build a
big house for my mom. And I may be right; since I found out I am not the only architect that
aims to do that. In the book A House for my Mother Beth Dunlop presented twenty five houses
designed by architects for their parents. Dunlop covers aspects as the parents-as-clients
relationship, affordable innovations, sheltering walls and others. She presented the plans,
pictures and interviews with the architects and their families. I identified with her when she said
it is thought the house we live in that we first derive a sense of place, and continue to do so
over the years” (Dunlop 1999, 14). This is because every work I do, purposely or not, has
some direct relationship with my childhood home.
I passed sometime thinking what that house represented for me, but more important about its
physical location. In my case, the house was important because I did not have the opportunity
to spend much time outside. The house is located in an avenue, with a small creek in the back,
a Lutheran church on front and two side houses that were empty most of the time. Therefore,
the sense of neighborhood was lost. After I married and moved out of the house, I started
experiencing what a neighborhood was. Multiple times I heard a lawnmower really close to my
window and it was my neighbor cutting our grass. We house-sitted when another neighbor
went on vacation. Children from other streets came in the afternoon to play with our dog and at
Christmas we all decorated a grass circle that delimited our cul-de-sac and had one tree on it.
One of the main reasons I was able to experienced life in a community was because the
neighborhood allowed for it. It was designed to accommodate privacy and at the same time
initiate socialization. In order to complete my design research, I plan to investigate if
neighborhoods in which to be active can be developed with the use of environmental elements,
that independent living should be possible in every community and that accessibility need to be
the invisible standard. With this investigation I plan to design a neighborhood for an
intergenerational community.
believe or not, I had NO idea what my thesis was going to be about. I wrote and got the sources
for two different topics:
• Universal design: adaptability of a house, first home owners to empty-nesters, rooms,
taking into consideration accessibility, and;
• Integration of flat roofs in different climates, other uses, expansion, gardens, connections.
I am sure you are asking how this happened, if before I “knew exactly” what my thesis was
going to be about. You guessed it, I learned in the past four years that my thesis was going to
be directed by design research and not what I can design and construct in two semesters. A
big misconception I had every time I thought about thesis work. Now, you know that when I big
misconception I had every time I thought about thesis work. Now, you know that when I started
studying architecture, I was not really sure what I was getting into. A wall for me was a bunch of
blocks one on top of the other with some finishing material (I did not know what) and some
paint. I never imagined a common house in the United States was composed of “wood sticks”,
and they want them to stay in place when the weather changes or worsens!
Do not worry, I have learned more than that in the past years. I was taught the importance of
architectural research and theory. I learned to be an Architect, with all the implication the
profession entitles; including the big question that is still pending “What my thesis is going to be
about?”. Well, I argue that adequately housing the elderly requires designing neighborhoods
for an intergenerational community . And I can see you are puzzled about it. You are thinking,
first she was going to demolish a house and now she is talking about some rhetorical questions
regarding the elderly people. How does this come about? Again, you guessed it; I was helped
to contextualize the reason why I want it to demolish the house. My main idea was to build a
big house for my mom. And I may be right; since I found out I am not the only architect that
aims to do that. In the book A House for my Mother Beth Dunlop presented twenty five houses
designed by architects for their parents. Dunlop covers aspects as the parents-as-clients
relationship, affordable innovations, sheltering walls and others. She presented the plans,
pictures and interviews with the architects and their families. I identified with her when she said
it is thought the house we live in that we first derive a sense of place, and continue to do so
over the years” (Dunlop 1999, 14). This is because every work I do, purposely or not, has
some direct relationship with my childhood home.
I passed sometime thinking what that house represented for me, but more important about its
physical location. In my case, the house was important because I did not have the opportunity
to spend much time outside. The house is located in an avenue, with a small creek in the back,
a Lutheran church on front and two side houses that were empty most of the time. Therefore,
the sense of neighborhood was lost. After I married and moved out of the house, I started
experiencing what a neighborhood was. Multiple times I heard a lawnmower really close to my
window and it was my neighbor cutting our grass. We house-sitted when another neighbor
went on vacation. Children from other streets came in the afternoon to play with our dog and at
Christmas we all decorated a grass circle that delimited our cul-de-sac and had one tree on it.
One of the main reasons I was able to experienced life in a community was because the
neighborhood allowed for it. It was designed to accommodate privacy and at the same time
initiate socialization. In order to complete my design research, I plan to investigate if
neighborhoods in which to be active can be developed with the use of environmental elements,
that independent living should be possible in every community and that accessibility need to be
the invisible standard. With this investigation I plan to design a neighborhood for an
intergenerational community.
| Picture by D. Deck-Suarez |