Wohnen im Detail / Living in Detail

Interior Design for People with Mental and Physical Handicaps

In this project I was partnering with the DRK Ibbenbüren (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz / German Red Cross), that works in many social fields. One of the building blocks they offer is ambulant assisted living for handicapped people. Opening in 2015, a new facility with ten fully equipped single room apartments (each approx. 30m²) and some common areas will open it’s doors. All of these apartments already have a future tenant; all of them are handicapped in different ways and levels.
Every students was randomly assigned to one of the apartments and it’s future tenant. How can we, as interior architects and designers create a joyful, liveable space that both meets certain requirements depending on the specific handicaps (such as wheel chair mobility, etc.) but also reflects the specific personality of the tenant. How to maneuver between our professional aspirations and the expectations of the clients? Therefore the young tenants were accompanied in there every day live and in their current environment, which usually still involves the assistance of their parents. Our focus is the human which is my interpretation of a human centered design.
We were looking for an overall space concept and one detail, that should be worked out as a 1:1 model. Besides the design aspects, the students also had to be aware of the individual budgets of the future tenants. Effects are diminishing after a while – long lasting, sustainable solutions is what’s of interest to us.