Universal Home Design Program

After preliminary meetings with ALA Architects in Crystal Lake led to shared confidence in the viability of the project, the partnership between District 200’s Building Trades Program, the City of Woodstock, and UDI was finalized and each party began working together to plan the two-year course.  Part of the Building Trades Program’s regular process includes an advisory committee comprised of realtors, contractors, and school district officials that plan the design and budget of each home. In this instance, the advisory committee worked with Richard Duncan of UDI, and ALA Architects, to incorporate important elements of universal design into the new home; and, as the addition of universal design features would slightly increase the cost of the project, the City was able to offset these additional costs by waiving related fees associated with the construction of the home.

The universal design home was built over the course of two years and two classes of students, between 2023 and 2025. Offered to Junior and Senior students, each class averaged 22 students, and daily classes took place over three school periods. Students spend part of the time in the classroom learning about the specifics of what was to take place at the job site, and much of the time at the job site constructing the home. While plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work are performed by professional contractors (with the students working alongside), the students do most of the building themselves (e.g., roofing, framing, drywalling, flooring, tiling, painting, etc.).

While not every feature of the home is considered to be of universal design, the most important features of universal design were incorporated; including no-step entryways, a first-floor master bedroom, wide hallways and 36-inch doorways, casement windows, a no-step shower with grab bar, lever door handles, raised electrical outlets and additional lighting, front-loading washers and dryers, and kitchen appliances accessible from bottom cabinets. These features combine to create a home that’s not only accessible to people with disabilities and seniors, but also one that anticipates the changing needs of any homeowner, allowing them to comfortably age in place and/or accommodate multigenerational households.

In the end, after hosting a community walkthrough, the home was sold to Clearbrook- an Arlington Heights-based not-for-profit service provider for people with disabilities- with the intention to expand the home and create a shared living arrangement for adults with disabilities.