FOCUS | Multigenerational living
Accessible kitchen design by Adam Thomas for Design Matters
as the care sector is ill-equipped to cope with increasing numbers of elderly people that are going into homes.
In terms of the accessible market, it’s also worth considering the ‘purple pound’ – the spending power of households where at least one member has a disability.
According to We are Purple, a user-led disability organisation that provides a range of support for the disabled, the number of people with a disability is increasing – from 11.9m in 2014 to 13.3m in 2017. Their spending power continues to increase – it was estimated to be worth £249 billion a year to UK businesses in 2017. But this huge market, which is intrinsically linked with multi- generational living, tends to be largely overlooked.
The trend towards multi- generational living is so significant that house builders are beginning to take note and take action. A 2017 report by the NHBC Foundation stated that catering for multigenerational families could offer a great opportunity to house builders and that some already had home designs that could suit,
There is significant debate over the true definition of what constitutes multigenerational design, with some suggesting that it must be 100% accessible for wheelchair users and others suggesting that is not necessary or even wanted.
The social care system won’t be able to cope with the ageing population, so multigenerational households will increase and manufacturers and retailers who don’t get on board with this soon will be left behind
Patrick McGinty, managing director, Tara Neil, Reading
or easily be adapted to meet, the needs of multigenerational households. It also found that multigenerational households predominantly live in ‘standard’ properties, and not all have annexes or extensions to accommodate household members separately.
found
Since then, research from estate agent Savills has that
around 125,000 homes are being
converted to adapt to multigenerational living, and this is expected to increase, which is great news for builders and KBB retailers alike. But what is multigenerational design?
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Symphony is currently one of the few mainstream furniture brands catering for the accessible market. Its accessible Freedom kitchen range, launched in 2018 and developed in collaboration with multi-award- winning designer and consultant in multigenerational design Adam Thomas [Full interview, pages 60-61], is now being offered by 15 retailers in the UK who have been handpicked over 18 months. The chosen retailers have had to meet certain criteria and make significant investments in terms of staff training and adapting their show- rooms so they’re accessible, but it’s an investment they obviously considered worthy. Tara Neil in Reading is one of the 15 retailers selling Freedom by Symphony and man - aging director Patrick
McGinty explains why he decided to take on the range.
“My elderly father was in hospital and also on the ward was an amputee – a fairly young guy that had lost his legs. I mentioned that I was in the kitchen business and he described to me his difficulties. He said a special kitchen had been put in, but that he was frustrated because it just wasn’t fit for purpose. “So when the news came through that Symphony
was developing this range, I had to get on board. There was a lot of investment to be made – including making the showroom accessible and extensive
training by Adam [Thomas] himself. Installing one of these kitchens is so rewarding, because it’s not just a kitchen. These spaces are absolutely life-changing, because they truly give disabled people their independence back and they don’t look like ‘disability kitchens’.”
Kitchens
So what does a multigenerational kitchen look like and what elements should it have? Thomas comments that “a multigenerational home must support a person from cradle to grave and must be able to adapt to a person’s changing needs as they age.”
He is of the belief that accessible design is just good design that works for everyone and that a multigenerational kitchen must be functional for a wheelchair user, while not looking institutional. However, Tony Passmore, managing director of the Passmore Group, which sells both standard and accessible kitchens and bathrooms, thinks the two are distinctly different, and he uses his experience communicating with his own customers to illustrate his point.
He says: “Many of the customers coming in and enquiring
about multigenerational kitchens are
youngish families whose mother is coming to live with them. These homeowners want a kitchen that’s inclusive to some extent, but will go nowhere near anything that looks like an accessible kitchen. The kitchen is the hub of the home, so it’s just not something they’re after.”
Passmore adds: “Also, most homeowners will buy their last kitchen at about retirement age – between 60 and 70 – and are likely still to be fully ambulant and fit and healthy. Even if you recommend designing in measures that will make their lives easier in the future, few people are prepared to do it. Because they don’t like to think about the possibility of losing mobility in the future and don’t want to adapt their final kitchen to suit potentially changing needs.”
· April 2020
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