Universal Design SUMMIT 4 St. Louis MO - Any body been to one of these?

[fez-head]

Has anyone been to one of these or does anyone plan to go? How about you Darren?


Universal Design SUMMIT 4
Creating Livable Homes and Communities

As North America's only recurring conference exclusively focused on universal housing and neighborhoods, the conference goal is to bring about community integration and participation while enhancing the independence of all people at home and throughout their daily lives. Universal Design Summit 4 will continue the tradition of providing exceptional content in universal design features in housing, sustainability, community design, green design and affordability to create communities usable by all.

Universal Design is transparent, inclusive, and attractive; it integrates features that improve function and usability for everyone. It is a superior approach to design and construction and can be achieved in all house sizes and at all price points.

http://stlouis.uds4.org/Home/tabid/38/Default.aspx

[neolitic]

Only 250 spots?
Better hurry! http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu61/neoliticman/smilie/smilielaughing.gif (http://s634.photobucket.com/albums/uu61/neoliticman/smilie/?action=view&current=smilielaughing.gif)
I've read some of their stuff,
and it's good if you do aging in place
and that sort of thing.

[fez-head]

I am searching for State agencies here in Mid MO that are promoting UD, UD grants, UD vendors... etc.

My clients are old and getting older.

[neolitic]

I am searching for State agencies here in Mid MO that are promoting UD, UD grants, UD vendors... etc.

My clients are old and getting older.

Old, I understand.
UD? I thought that
was birth control....

[naptownCr]

Old, I understand.
UD? I thought that
was birth control....

That's IUD Neo

[naptownCr]

Only 250 spots?
Better hurry! http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu61/neoliticman/smilie/smilielaughing.gif (http://s634.photobucket.com/albums/uu61/neoliticman/smilie/?action=view&current=smilielaughing.gif)
I've read some of their stuff,
and it's good if you do aging in place
and that sort of thing.

With us baby boomers coming into old age this will be a huge market.
Kids today don't want to care for parents ( mine will be forced to however).
The longer they can stay independant the happier everyone will be.

[neolitic]

With us baby boomers coming into old age this will be a huge market.
Kids today don't want to care for parents ( mine will be forced to however).
The longer they can stay independant the happier everyone will be.

Most people just want to
stay in their own home, period.
I sell age in place as...
you'll never get any younger,
and even if you're 30, you might
be one slip or fall from needing it anyway.

[naptownCr]

Most people just want to
stay in their own home, period.
I sell age in place as...
you'll never get any younger,
and even if you're 30, you might
be one slip or fall from needing it anyway.

Agreed:2thumbsup:

[Silvertree]

I took the CAPS class a few years ago, since then I have done some seminars on it, not a lot of interest.
But I agree, its a coming thing.

Universal design has its own page on my new website www.203kloanmn.com

I will be making it more prominent as time allows.

[AdaptMy2]

The UD Summit, as far as I can tell, is for people who promote the concepts of Universal Design. The agenda hasn't been developed as yet.

Because of what we're doing to promote UD, Dick Duncan, one of the conference leaders, asked me specifically to attend and have a 'booth' presence. I don't know what other companies or organizations have been invited, or whether it's worth the effort for remodelers. I can talk to Dick to see if I can get an early picture of the agenda.

Dick has been an active participant in the development of the CAPS program. After the Summit a new advanced CAPS curriculum will be piloted. This event, held in collaboration with NAHB Remodelers (NAHBR) and the St. Louis Home Builders Association, is a separate registration.

[fez-head]

The UD Summit, as far as I can tell, is for people who promote the concepts of Universal Design. The agenda hasn't been developed as yet.

Because of what we're doing to promote UD, Dick Duncan, one of the conference leaders, asked me specifically to attend and have a 'booth' presence. I don't know what other companies or organizations have been invited, or whether it's worth the effort for remodelers. I can talk to Dick to see if I can get an early picture of the agenda.

When you say "or whether it's worth the effort for remodelers" do you mean to attend and observe or to attend and man a booth? I am attending strictly to become more familiar with both the services that we can offer as well as the best way to package and market and those services to our clients.

Thanks

[Absolute Basements]

I can't access the webpage, but doing mostly basement finishing, I can't see a huge benefit to me to attend. Please enlighten me if I'm mistaken.

[neolitic]

CAPS ?
Certified Aging in Place ???
Doesn't anyone speak English anymore?

[AdaptMy2]

Sorry. I thought CAPS (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) had been spelled out before. But there's always someone who won't know the reference.... so I'll try not to use acronyms without their full name in the future.

Fez head - I was referring to the value as an attendee, not as an exhibitor.

Anyway, here's what Dick Duncan said:
"The conference does not deal explicitly with with the remodeling context but about half of the conference has to do with features of UD in homes which is appplicable to remodeling. Also, we plan to offer the CAPS training the day after the conference so there will be synergies that co-attendees can take advantage of."

If you're still not sure after that thorough explanation ;), I'll try to get more detail for you. At some point, I assume they will be publishing a conference agenda that includes a description of the presentations.

[neolitic]

Sorry. I thought CAPS (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) had been spelled out before. But there's always someone who won't know the reference.... so I'll try not to use acronyms without their full name in the future.

Fez head - I was referring to the value as an attendee, not as an exhibitor.

Anyway, here's what Dick Duncan said:
"The conference does not deal explicitly with with the remodeling context but about half of the conference has to do with features of UD in homes which is appplicable to remodeling. Also, we plan to offer the CAPS training the day after the conference so there will be synergies that co-attendees can take advantage of."

If you're still not sure after that thorough explanation ;), I'll try to get more detail for you. At some point, I assume they will be publishing a conference agenda that includes a description of the presentations.



Paul started it!
He knows we're slow.....

[fez-head]

It's an hour an a half drive so I do appreciate the heads up.

Having the CAPS certification "the day after" the conference seems counter productive but if it takes an extra trip to St. Louis thats what we'll do to become certified. I went back and forth with Starsha Valentine (Program Coordinator, Candidate Services The NAHB University of Housing) about becoming certified back in '08 but she wasn't much help other than basically saying I would have to travel out of state to take the class since it was not offered anywhere locally.

[AdaptMy2]

Having the CAPS certification "the day after" the conference seems counter productive but if it takes an extra trip to St. Louis thats what we'll do to become certified.

There are 3 classes that are part of the certification program.

Marketing and Communication Strategies for Aging and Accessibility (CAPS I): background on the older adult population; communication techniques;common remodeling expenditures and projects; accessing the aging-in-placeremodeling market
Design/Build Solutions for Aging and Accessibility (CAPS II): codes and standards; common barriers and solutions; product ideas and resources
Business Management for Building Professionals: strategies and techniques for building a competitive, sustainable remodeling business; case studies and interactive exercises (holders of certain certifications are exempt from this course*)
This class (that's offered after the conference) is an 'after certification' class and is not part of the certification. It's a pilot for an Advanced CAPS.

[bconley]

I took the CAPS class a few years ago, since then I have done some seminars on it, not a lot of interest.
But I agree, its a coming thing.

One of the challenges is that no one wants to admit the need, themselves, and can be a very touchy subject on the sales end.
How do you go about selling? "You're not getting any younger, should we.......?"

[AdaptMy]

One of the challenges is that no one wants to admit the need, themselves, and can be a very touchy subject on the sales end.
How do you go about selling? "You're not getting any younger, should we.......?"

Absolutely, that is definitely one of the challenges!
But, I truly believe that good aging in place features do not necessarily go against the grain of good design features. For example, adding extra lighting on stairways, in bathrooms, or in the kitchen is great for AIP, and great for everyone.

A lot of things can be mentioned with the concept of safety now and later...lower pile carpets are less likely a tripping hazard, grab bars in the bathroom can be stylish and safety conscious (there are towel bars that double as grab bars too, as long as they are properly installed). Specialty items like cabinet mixer lifters mean you don't have to take up valuable countertop space, or hurt yourself lugging that thing out of the cabinet.

Other things can be sold as...making your life easier now, but a whole lot easier later - like pull-out cabinets and more use of drawers; the oven placed higher up; a faucet with lever handles and a pull out spout that reaches the stovetop (so you can fill a pot without carrying it to and from the sink), a bathroom seating space that doubles as storage, etc.

The key will be reminding your customers that these things are great now, but will be even more useful in the future.

[Bender]

My 85 year old neighbor was showing me his house. He had a toilet that extremely tall and it was a lot easier to sit/stand up on it. (He was so excited about it he made me sit on it:laugh3:)
I thought, "When I build a house this is a MUST"

[AdaptMy2]

Today I tracked down Dick Duncan and asked him about the agenda and the appropriateness of the attendance of hands-on remodelers. He told me that the full agenda will be available on the UD Summit site on 5/24. At that time you will be able to see that out of the 36 sessions, 20 have to do with Universal Design.

It is not a research conference (as I had thought), but an opportunity for professionals to learn about and discuss Universal Design. There will be new housing and commercial builders, architects, designers, landscape architects and remodelers, along with some university types who also work in the field. Sounds to me like an excellent opportunity to get a better understanding of how all these disciplines play a role in Universal Design.

Preceding the conference is a day of tours of homes that utilize Universal Design, and Dick believes that to be a good opportunity to really see what all the fuss is about.

As to the CAPS class after the conference, it WILL be one of the certification classes, they just haven't determined which one yet. The pilot that was referenced on the UD Summit site has been postponed.

Until the 24th, that's all I know. It's not unusual for conferences to change right up until the agenda is printed (and often afterward too). If you're interested, I suggest you save the dates (October 9-12), but don't schedule air fare or hotel until you see the formal agenda.