Thinking It Through (Part 1)

According to the New York Times, the architects of Reversible Destiny Foundation believe that comfort is a precursor to death and that what they design is intended to lead their users into a perpetually tentative relationship with their surroundings due to multiple levels, oddly angled switches, uneven floors, and a riot of colour. I agree with their philosophy but only to an extent. I can see how all those contrivances could keep occupants on guard and that this might be linked to retaining spatial awareness and mobility for longer. Japanese elderly are on the whole more sprightly than their Western counterparts and some would have grown up navigating steep stairs without a handrail. But not everyone, even in Japan. An environment that may be challenging for a seventy-year old might be just dangerous for someone of ninety or more.

The project is for a tiny house for a 97-year old man who, though fiercely independent, felt he was approaching the time when it would no longer possible for him to live independently. His daughter had some outbuildings in the corner of her property and, because planning permission was now no longer required to rebuild on the same footprint, suggested replacing them with a tiny house that would be about 30m² in area. There could be no windows on the (sunny) north side or to the east because the house would be on those fencelines. The existing “main” house was never designed to make use of the piece of land in front of those outbuildings but, at the southern end of what is effectively a front yard, is a gate leading to a gently sloping ramp down to the street. The occupant of the tiny house would be able to come and go independently, as could visitors, cleaners and various carers. The main house and the tiny house are for all practical purposes independent and detached but the most important benefit each has for the occupant of the other is knowing that someone is there.

The former owner is said to have used the outbuildings as a painting studio but the illumination is poor and the construction is flimsy and ad-hoc. The outbuildings are physically and visually detached from the main house. There’s also a large space on the north side that’s unused other than for hanging laundry. Unfortunately, the outbuildings are also visually detached from the street but nothing can be done about that other than replace the opaque gate with a grilled one. Views out of the tiny house are therefore limited to the south side that could do with some more plants, and to the west where, shading from the setting sun will be needed in summer. On the plus side, solar gain and wind protection would make these two outdoor areas pleasant places to be in autumn and spring.

Given those conditions, this was my first idea. I thought the bathroom had to go in the corner because it had least need for a window. I did think for a few seconds that this might be a good place for a tiny courtyard but dismissed it almost immediately as a waste of permissible footprint. I might reconsider. Cross ventilation in summer shouldn’t be a problem because, in Perth, a cooling sea breeze comes from the west during the summer months. Known locally as the Fremantle Doctor, it usually arrives between 10am and 3pm and cools the city by several degrees.

• A front door isn’t yet shown.
• There’s not much living or activity space.
• There might need to be more separation between the sleeping area and the daytime area.
• The kitchen might be too large, too conventional. Accessing cupboards and storage can only become more difficult than they already are.
• Level access shower, handrails everywhere.
• The risk of a fall has to be reduced by always having something steady within arm’s reach. For example, if the occupant’s right hand is occupied when opening the front door, there needs to be a railing for the left hand to hold onto. Threshold situations are high risk. Sliding doors are a potential trip hazard and the cross-body movement needed to open and close them is destabilizing.
• In the bathroom is a small washing machine to wash clothes as an activity to foster a feeling of independence, especially since the clothesline is nearby. It won’t be used for washing sheets as the occupant probably doesn’t have to strength to hang them on the clothesline. [Perhaps a separate, lower and more modest clothesline would be better?]

• The kitchen is shrinking but still needs more thought because preparing food is an activity and a pleasure. It must be possible to offer a certain degree of hospitality, even if it doesn’t extend to the baking of cakes.
• The daytime area is still small and only allows for activities that can be done at the table.
• The bed can’t be wider because of a likely wheelchair scenario but also because, as in a hospital, a bedridden person may need care or nursing from either side.
• There is a television at the end of the bed, and another at the head of the table in the other space.
• A daytime chair is by the bed where what there is to see on the south side can be seen.

• A pergola on the west side will go some way towards alleviating summer solar gain.
• Instead of an occasional table and bedside table, the window has a wide sill to place cups of coffee or tea, books, etc.
• The table and the kitchen have been unified into a single countertop with only a single support. The two corners are rounded. The left extension of the table provides a places for making jigsaws.
• The cooker hood seems excessive although some provision will have to be made for kitchen and and bathroom exhaust.
• Use by a wheelchair user is anticipated but although various drawers can be accommodated in the table thickness, the locations of the microwave and upper cupboards aren’t realistic.
• There needs to be two more chairs stored somewhere for visitors for board games or mah-jongg even if mah-jongg for four players is tricky.
• The single level unified activity surface is a good idea but ultimately an expensive one.

• A wall with an arch now separates the sleeping area from the daytime area but this may still not seem sufficient separation for a person who has always slept in a separate bedroom.
• The kitchen has been simplified, even if the shelves may have limited use. Microwave?
• Cooker hood still seems excessive.
• Is a plastered ceiling necessary? The walls will need to be plastered because elderly skin is fragile.
• Colour scheme? I’m told the intended occupant’s vision is still good but it might be time for stronger colours to help differentiate depth. A feeling of infinite space isn’t what’s needed.

• The bathroom now has a (remote-operable) skylight and above the sink are five rows of glass blocks that borrow light from it, especially morning light.
• The gas cooktop has been swapped for two induction units although electric saucepans are a possibility.

• It’s not a good idea to try to change ways of preparing and cooking food.
• The ceiling is now raked and the red boxing hides an unpleasant angle. The arch was a bit ’70s.
• I was thinking two IKEA Melltorp¹ tables.
• The colour palette is getting a bit Corbusian but the red boxing is definitely Japanese, especially when seen against those glass blocks.

• I don’t know where this is going decor-wise, but I could quite happily live in it myself and that’s always a good thing if you’re designing residential spaces.
• The external doors now have opening sidelights.
• Kitchen and bathroom exhaust is now led through the red boxing to exhaust through the roof.
• A vertical adjustable blind now separates the two spaces.
• I’m not sure where the best position for the air conditioner would be.

• The vertical blind has been replaced by a bead curtain that will be less of an obstruction for a potential wheelchair user.

• Meanwhile, a conservatory has been added to the west side. Technically, this is outside the permissible footprint but it would be another space for use on all days apart from the hottest summer ones. The blank wall of a long shed is on the other side of the fence.
• Still have to think about illumination, positions of switches, etc.

• At the front, a large roof protects the parking spot for a mobility scooter.
• Next to the door should probably be a place to put things down while opening the door.
• I don’t particularly like how it looks but this is a first proposal to see how the spaces might fall into place.
• The roof can’t drain towards the boundaries, for example. More conditions will follow.
• There are many things I need to know about the condition of the existing structures, the state of the boundary fences and what services there are and where. Restricted site access will impact construction.

Some architects begin their careers by designing a house or houses for their parents² but it doesn’t always happen that way. Rule number one for residential is to never design anything you couldn’t live in yourself. #2 to follow.

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1. Misfits’ Table Quiz ↩︎
2. Houses for Parents ↩︎