
National Senior Citizen's Day
National Senior Citizen’s Day recognizes the important accomplishments, devotion, and services older adults give throughout their lives to create better communities. The IDEA Center actively engages with older adults in our community through focus groups, usability testing, and surveys. One major effort is our collaboration with Erie County on developing an Age-Friendly Center of Excellence. This project incorporates universal design into initiatives that are crucial to seniors across county departments. The IDEA Center also advocates for older adults to age in place by designing homes and environmental interventions that are accessible and/or universally designed. To date, the Center has completed over 1000 home modification projects that have improved the usability of people’s homes, many of whom are older adults.
The Importance of Universal Design and Aging in Place
The Goals of Universal Design
Universal design is a process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation. The IDEA Center developed the 8 Goals of Universal Design to expand UD’s original focus and include social participation and health and wellness. When designing a home for universal design, these goals provide the necessary guidance.

Body Fit
Accommodating a wide a range of body sizes and abilities

Comfort
Keeping demands within desirable limits of body function and perception

Awareness
Ensuring that critical information for use is easily perceived

Understanding
Making methods of operation and use intuitive, clear, and unambiguous

Wellness
Contributing to health promotion, avoidance of disease, and protection from hazards

Social Integration
Treating all groups with dignity and respect

Personalization
Incorporating opportunities for choice and the expression of individual preferences

Cultural Appropriateness
Respecting and reinforcing cultural values and the social and environmental contexts of any design project
Implementing Universal Design in Homes
Spatial Organization and Design
- Single-level design with open floor plan or wider hallways
- At least one barrier-free entry with no raised threshold 36” wide doors throughout
- Lever-style handles on all doors instead of knobs
- Lowered light switches and raised outlets reachable from a seated position
- Slip-resistant flooring throughout

Kitchen
- Storage located within a comfortable reach range
- Loop handled hardware on cabinets and drawers instead of knobs
- Roll-out shelves in cabinets
Self-closing drawers - Lever-style faucets on kitchen sinks

Bathroom
- Ample space for maneuvering and transfers
- Barrier-free, curbless shower
Offset shower or tub controls so they can easily be reached from outside the tub or shower - Handheld, height adjustable showerhead that can easily be positioned at a comfortable height for anyone
- Blocking behind shower walls and adjacent to toilet for the future installation of grab bars
- Higher, elongated toilet
- Anchored towel bars that can be used as grab bars if needed
- Lever-style faucets on bathroom sinks

Services we offer!
We offer a wide range of services including: Universal Design Consulting, Accessibility Consulting, Usability Testing, Wayfinding Design, and Training.