France+Associates France+Associates
  • Home
  • +
  • Projects
  • +
  • Adapted home for a child living with cerebral palsy.

Adapted home for a child living with cerebral palsy.

Travis was born with cerebral palsy following a negligent delivery, leaving him severely disabled and with a range of complex needs, including a need for 24-hour care.

Travis and his family required a home that met his complex needs and accommodated their large family, along with additional living space for his carer.

Our role included sourcing the property, negotiating with the agents and vendor, preparing all feasibility, planning and construction documentation and manage construction through to completion in January of 2019.

Due to Travis' young age, the property has been designed to be as flexible as possible and is future proofed in case of a deterioration in his condition.

More Info +

Project Specifications
AR-0669
Inclusive Design
New Build
Key Build Features:
Carers accommodation
Hydrotherapy
Sensory garden
Smart tech
Sustainable
Therapy room
Wheelchair accessible

Brief

Travis was born with cerebral palsy following his negligent delivery at Huddersfield Birthing Centre in November 2010. He has a range of complex needs and is severely disabled. His condition means that he is wheelchair bound and requires 24-hour care. 

Travis' claim settled in 2018, but prior to settlement he received an interim payment to enable him and his family to start the process of creating a home that met his considerable accommodation needs. 

Our brief was to assist the client to source a suitable property for adaptation or redevelopment, as well as accommodating Travis and his family (plus cats, dogs and a Guinea Pig), it also needed to include living space for his carer. A ‘future proof’ approach became the primary design principle for this project because of Travis' young age.

The project had a large design team, from Architectural Designers, Occupational Therapists, Case Managers and Contractors. The project ran through a trust represented by Irwin Mitchell.

What we did

Sourcing a suitable property was difficult because of the limited options in the client’s preferred location. It took three years to find a house positioned on a large plot. In total we considered 6 different properties. It was a neglected dorma bungalow positioned within a large plot. We negotiated the purchase of part of the land, allowing for a reduction in the purchase cost to fall within budget.

The bungalow was demolished, and a new building was built in its place. It took around 18 months to build and the family moved into it in March 2018 whilst work was ongoing. 

This project involved the client using an extensive range of architectural services on offer by France+Associates including:

+ Sourcing the property

+ Negotiating with agents and vendor to agree a purchase cost on behalf of the Trustees

+ Preparation of a costs report

+ Preparing all feasibility, planning and building documentation prior to the build

+ Acted as Contract Administrators 

We designed the property to be as flexible as possible and to future proof it in case of a deterioration in Travis' condition. The therapy room has a foldaway wall on a bi-fold system so that an open plan space can be created when the therapy room isn’t in use. We also incorporated some hidden window spaces, so that if an extension was built in the future, we already had the infrastructure in place to create the necessary windows.

Accessibility Features

+ Ramped access to the front of the property

+ Wheelchair access throughout the bungalow (2m wide doorways required rather than the standard 1.2-1.5m used for a wheelchair)

+ Outdoor hot tub with hoist position under a canopy

+ Sensory and therapy room positioned, centrally, in the heart of the home

+ Sensory and soft play garden (sunken trampoline with a hoist over it)
 
+ Carers accommodation

+ Therapy room

+ Facilities to allow parents to work from home

+ Future proofing for deterioration in the client’s condition to allow for additional care needs, for example loft space is capable of being converted into 2 extra bedrooms and a staircase is provided for. The carers accommodation can be extended into 2 rooms.

+ Smart track access

Client Testimonials

“Jonathan has been absolutely brilliant throughout the entire process. He listened carefully to us and developed a deep understanding of what Travis needed from the house in terms of the design, layout and functions. 

Travis loves water and being outdoors, so Jonathan incorporated into the design a canopied outdoor hot tub complete with a hoist.”

Less Info -

Next Related Project +