Tilesday, january 29, 2013 |

TechNews

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UTSAV GANDHI

 

Design grant awarded to AIAS-IIT Lissette Project

John Pasowicz
TECHNEWS WRITER

The American Institute of Architeci
ture Students (AIAS) chapter at IIT recently
participated in the Freedom by Design Pro,
gram which utilizes the talents of architecture
students to impact the lives of the people in
their communities through design and con,
struction.

Modifications are made to enhance
the houses of low income and disabled people.
By addressing the everyday struggles they go
through and allowing them to achieve normal,
cy on their own we are giving them a freedom
that every person should enjoy.

The program at Illinois Institute of
Technology is just starting up and we are a1,
ready on our way to make our community bet,
ter. We are in the design phase of a bathroom
for a disabled teenager named Lissette who has

Galvin Library

Pattie Piotrowski
ASST. DEAN FOR PUBLIC SERVICES, GALVIN LIBRARY

The Paul V. Galvin I_ib ry is com,
mitted to em ng and enhancing the educa7
tional perience for udents and to that end
we are establishing a Student Advisory Board.

Come and p ~t1c1pate to make the
lib rv a better place for yourself and othe !
We would like your input on policies, se

Spina Bifida, a birth defect caused by the in,
complete closing of the embryonic neural tube
that affects the development of ones spinal
cord. This birth defect has limited her mobility
to a wheel chair. She is usually very indepen7
dent when she has the freedom to do so. The
family’s current bathroom situation does not
allow her any freedom to practice the indepeni
dence she will need to live on her own in the
future.

The current bathroom has a door
that is only thirty inches wide. This makes it
very hard for her to enter and close the door
by herself in her current chair. As she is only a
teenager she is going to grow out of her current
chair which will not fit through their current
door

Another problem she runs into is
having storage for her catheter within reach so
she can use that by herself. The last most im7
portant issue is the tub. The current bathtub

makes it impossible for her to bathe by herself
because she is not able to get in and out by her,
self.

During our Charrette we had sepa7
rated into groups to iterate as many solu7
tions as we could. We then got together as a
group and proposed each solution. In the end
we combined certain aspects of each that we
thought would work best as a cohesive bath,
room.

To solve the door issue in a space
that a full swing door wouldn’t work, and a
sliding door wouldn’t have enough wall to slide
into, we decided that a biifold door is the only
option that allows her to enter and close the
door by herself. In order to accommodate the
wheelchair, we decided that we need to move a
wall to offer her full mobility.

To offer her freedom within the
bathroom we decided to wrap key walls with
a handrail so she can access the full bathroom.

The bathroom is the only one in the house so
we need to accommodate her as well as the
family.

We figured out that a fold up bench
would offer the most freedom for her and a1,
low her family to use the shower normally. To
create an edge condition and storage to show
the separation of shower and bathroom while
creating storage within reach we decided to
create a storage wall that helps her store her
catheter and other supplies while offering stor7
age for the family when they shower.

Our completion date is by the end
of January 2013 with a budget of around two
thousand. We have recently received news that
we received a grant for $1500 from Graphisoft
and we are working hard to raise the rest of the
money. If you are interested in helping support
The Lissette Project or IIT Freedom By Design
donate to this website https://www.aias.org/
custom/freedomdonate.asp?id:2153

seeks applicants for S udent Advisory Board

unteers to serve.

The board will be comprised of 87 12
undergraduate and graduate students from
va ous disciplines who will meet a few times
each semester to:
'ide feedback and i1

pate in the development of
or focus groups
t in decisionimaking that will

afiect the student body

In the past Galvin Library has lisi
tened to our students and we have added:
. A quiet study zone
. In eased vending options
. I ore so and comfortable seating
. Night Owl Lab
. Study Week, an additional week of

s on both levels

No\ ve want to find out what you
think! If you are interested in part1c1pat1ng,
send us an email at librai it.edu. write “Stu,

2 -1 hour

dent Ad isory Board" in the subject line and
tell us three things:
. Your student status (undergradw
ate level freshman 7 5th year or graduate)
'or or intended course of study
. Vi. v you would like to serve on
the student ad 1so rboard
Please submit your email of inte1>
1it.edu by Febiua 1 Board
be notified by Tues Februi

 

Ph oms can nesy of Dan Zweig & M an Wmdarczyk