The original concept - The Bremerhaven

The inspiration for the exterior of The Bremerhaven was a home actually located in Bremerhaven, Germany.

The original concept for this Americanized plan includes two bedrooms and two and 1/2 baths on the main floor with three additional bedrooms and a full bath on the second floor. Borrowing from a common German design for a duplex the second floor could serve as a separate 2 bedroom apartment in the future with very few renovations.

The Master Bedroom and Second Bedroom are both handicapped accessible with emergency exits to an adjoining porch. The location of the bedrooms allows for easy access to each other (for those late night sleep interruptions that require caregiving). The Second Bedroom could also serve as a Study.

Both full Baths on the main floor are handicapped accessible. The Hall Bath has a roll-in shower, grip bars near the toilet and enough floor space to turn a wheelchair 360 degrees. A nook has been added in later versions to accommodate a bath chair and provide storage. There was a small Powder Room (or 1/2 bath) off the Foyer in the original plan that has been replaced with an elevator because of the addition of a Basement.

A detached garage is accessed through a screened porch and mudroom. Detaching the garage from the main house allows for accessibility without the danger of CO2 poisoning (Most garages are lower than the main floor of a home. Accessible garages are on the same level as the main floor reducing the need for ramps). The Mudroom is attached to a small Office (that was lost in a later version of the plan). The final version of the Bremerhaven has flipped the main floor, but left the garage on the eastern side of the home. The office (replaced by a small upstairs room above the foyer) was converted into a laundry area, the mudroom was lost (replaced in the basement) and the screened porch became accessible just off the bedroom porch. This change was necessary because of the lay of the land and the desire to have a walk-out basement.

There was no Basement in the original concept as the goal of the plan was for accessibility. However, the latest version of the plan includes a full walkout Basement accessed by stairs and a small residential elevator. The addition of a basement gave 1,700 extra square feet of possible living space for only about $12,000 more than a conventional foundation. Future plans for the basement include a Family Room, Guest Room, Therapy/Exercise Room and a full Bath with roll-in shower.

Although I personally do not like an open floor plan it was a better option for accessibility. Interior walls were kept to a minimum and narrow hallways were avoided by making most "halls" into usable rooms. All doors measure 36". Most rooms of the house have enough floor space for a wheelchair to turn completely around 360 degrees (approx 5' circle).

Passive Solar ideas have been incorporated into the houseplan as the back of the home faces the south; the living areas on the main floor and the basement have large south facing windows. Solar panels could easily be added to the roof for added efficiency.

The home has been designed to accommodate two high efficiency split air conditioning units. Each floor has a utility area for the A/C units. The basement has the same utility area that can accommodate an infloor heating system.

I plan to offer the finished blueprints for sell once the project is completed. So, the plan has been copyrighted.

Start with the right piece of land

Our objective was to purchase enough land (3 acres) upon which we could build a handicap accessible home, have a horse (mainly for therapy) and stay close to town where doctors, therapists and friends are located. Other perks would be lots of trees, hills and protective covenants. I also wanted the back of the house to face south so that we could incorporate some passive solar aspects into the design.

After looking, considering and praying for two years we found 76 Sydney Lane. We have 10 acres of rolling hills with hundreds of trees! There are three fairly level fields on the property and a place where a pond could be added later. Sydney Lane runs west to east and our home would be located in the south side of the street (so passive solar is an option). We have the perfect piece of property with the only exception being that it is 20 miles from town.

A friend and I rented a tractor in the spring to repair an erosion problem and we planted about 400lbs of grass seed in the two of the fields (upper and lower) that will be used for horses. The erosion problem is fixed, but the grass seed has not done well and is being choked out by weeds (I have learned that I should have first poisoned the weeds and then waited until we had running water on the property).

The property should be Perk tested (needed for a septic system permit) this week, and I hope we can break ground in the next week or two.

The Problem

The best solutions begin with a need or problem.

The Problem:
We have five daughters and one is wheelchair bound. The home we currently live in is not accessible because of its location on a hill top and the era in which the home was built (1940's). After much consideration and counsel it was determined to be next to impossible (because of the costs involved and space required) to renovate the property to the extend that would be necessary. We needed a different home. After looking at dozens of homes on the market I concluded there simply were no homes available that would meet our needs. I looked at thousands of house plans, and there were no plans available that would satisfy our specific needs or my tastes. (Most plans that incorporate universal design are considering the home owner, not a child).

The Solution:
I have wanted to build a house since my childhood and have a hobby interest in architecture (designed over 100 homes just for fun). The challenge now was to incorporate universal design (handicap accessibility) elements into a home that could provide shelter for my family of 7 today, the addition of an aged parent in the future and could be a home that my wife and I retire in. Universal design elements will be incorporated into all areas of the main living floor. In an effort not to over build and to keep within a budget I set the square footage limits for the new house at our current home's size of 2,790 sqft.

Some Practical Universal Ideas to incorporate:
Hallways should be kept to a minimum. Doors should be 36", hallways 4'6" to 5' in width. Electrical and plumbing fixtures and switches should be accessible. Emergency Exits should be located in each bedroom (on the main floor). Stairs and steps should be kept to a minimum. Each room should have an area large enough to turn a wheelchair 360 degrees (approx 5' in diameter).

Modern European Design and other Preferences:
I very much dislike the cookie cutter approach to building homes and against profession advice I planned to build specifically for our family.

Americans generally build homes to sell, Europeans generally build homes to live in. Americans tend to conform to trends, while Europeans build according to tradition (or with at least an eye of consideration to the environment and looking toward the long term future).

One aspect of European design that I like very much is the usable foyer. If Americans incorporate a foyer it is simply for impact, or setting the stage for presentation of the interior. Europeans (at least Germans) include a true foyer in most house designs to serve as a functional area between the outdoors and the interior of the home. One reason for this is the outer clothing and boots that are worn in the winter months, and the need for storage of these items. It is a very practical room of transition. In European design this entry room often includes a staircase and serves as the common entry for multi-family dwellings. Incorporating this room into my design not only serves a practical need on a farm (that of transition for outdoors to indoors), but it also serves as a common entry for a home that can easily house two families in the future (one on the main floor and the second floor easily converted to an apartment for long term guests).

After doing a bit of research I found that having a full basement would not be much more expensive than a conventional foundation. A slab foundation was out of the question as we intend to remain in this home for the remainder of our lives, LORD willing, and we are not yet 40 (Although slab foundations are very good for accessible homes in general and less expensive to build, maintenance becomes an issue because plumbing pipes are virtually inaccessible). Also, living in Tornado Alley make a basement more of a necessity than a luxury.