December 23rd, 2009 | Company Press
Just yesterday we found out New England Dream House has chosen our project for the 2009 Dreamies; a special broadcast honoring the best homes of the year. The program will air this Sunday, December 27th at 10:30am and again at 7:30pm. (For those in New England please check with your local cable listing for specific channel information for NECN).
The project is our most meaningful to date. Through innovative and thoughtful design incorporating Aging-in-Place and sustainable practices, the homeowner, an elderly woman living with Alzheimer’s; is now is able to live independently in her own home. We’re happy to report that she still lives there now, well over a year since we remodeled.
We are honored that New England Dream House has chosen our story for the 2009 Dreamies. Thank you New England Dream House for making our Christmas extra special this year!
If you're unable watch the show live, please visit their site www.nedreamhouse.com . The house will be on there starting December 27th.
December 17th, 2009 | Design Philosophy, Lecture Series
On Monday we had the good fortune to begin our lecture series at the The Krempels Brain Injury Foundation located in Portsmouth, NH. It's a non-profit organization founded by David Krempel, a survivor of a severe traumatic brain injury. David describes his “two years of hell” and why he and other supporters established the foundation. Each day, the foundation works to improve the lives of those living with brain injury. Mr. Krempels’ message is one of hope and inspiration; and resonates deeply with our company mission: Design for Life.
The foundation offers two programs including Family Support and Stepping Stones which is a community based day program working in post-rehabilitation “that increases independence, community reintegration, and overall quality of life.”
Upon arrival we were swept up in the rituals of the morning meeting. Mic in hand, each attendee (including our team) welcomed the group and shared a laugh or informational antidote. Camaraderie, support and empowerment were the take–aways for the morning. Attendees were given program options for the day with our lecture; Inexpensive Home Modifications, to be included.
About a dozen or so members packed into a small conference room and we presented our most meaningful project to date; a home renovation located on the North Shore of Boston. The project was quite literally created under 'do or die' circumstances. The client, an elderly women suffering memory loss from Alzheimer's had grown dangerously depressed in the nursing home where she had just recently been admitted. Her family felt that if her house, a 1950's sea-side cottage could be renovated to accomodate her needs; that she could again thrive. Every detail of the home was carefully considered, and created so their mother, could live healthfully and independently in her own home. (The project was also featured on NECN's Dream House if you are interested in seeing more).
It was exciting and heart warming to see the group members actively participating with questions and comments. Though the presentation was only 50 minutes, we were able to glean from their questions, their own daily challenges and struggles. Upon leaving, our team had agreed that our mission to create environments that lend to living healthy and fully in a home whose singular purpose is our clients’ well-being is more important than ever.
December 9th, 2009 | Design Events
Dean Kamen, founder of DEKA Research and Development, is a self-taught physicist and highly successful entrepreneur. I had the privilege to hear Kamen present a key note speech entitled Inspiring Design at a recent Build Boston event. Over the course of his hour and a half presentation, Kamen regaled the audience with stories about several of his inventions, including a prosthesis inspired by the one Luke Skywalker wears in Star Wars and a water purification system that Kamen says would "wipe out 50% of human disease."
But what struck me most was Kamen's commitment to bettering humanity through scientific design and innovation. One of his projects is a nonprofit organization called U.S. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Kamen launched the organization several years ago after realizing that many American teenagers couldn't name a single living scientist. "Our culture celebrates one thing: sports heroes," he says. "You have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or an engineer is." The organization's goal is to get people to value scientists the way they now value athletes. It's great to see someone like Kamen using his talents to improve society. I completely agree with his desire to improve lives, especially through design.
