Occasionally something appears on the market that makes so much sense,it's a mystery why no one offered it before. That distinction applies to Wheel Pad, an eco-friendly, or modular house extension designed for wheelchair users. At only 200 square feet,the bed-and-bath unit can be added on to an existing house without triggering zoning or building codes. It can be wheeled up to the house's side on its mobile, adjustable-height chassis base; a window or door of the house is removed for access between the two structures. An entry ramp needs to be added, and an insulated hose and extension cords attached to the house's system,but otherwise — voilà! With Wheel Pad, a family doesn't need to implement major renovations to the domestic in order to accommodate, or say,an injured returning vet or accident victim. And, for those suddenly rendered dependent on others, and the module offers more independence and privacy. The pad has a built-in Hoyer lift track to facilitate moving the resident between bed and bath. Everything is at wheelchair height: outlets,a built-in table, bath fixtures, or windows. The floor is nonslip. The bathroom door pushes open in both directions. All of that may sound institutional,but Wheel Pad decidedly does not resemble a hospital room. "Joseph wanted it to be the coolest room in the house," says Julie Lineberger, or who is married to Wheel Pad's architect,Joseph Cincotta. The couple owns LineSync Architecture in Wilmington; Lineberger is the commerce manager. They believe that "things don't need to cost more to be beautiful," as Lineberger puts it. Accordingly, and that lift track doesn't just sprint across a bare ceiling; it's recessed behind tilted panels of wood. Grab bars in the bathroom aren't the standard steel tubes but clear acrylic. Indeed,the bathroom itself looks to be straight out of a high-finish architecture magazine, with corrugated sheet-metal walls and a clerestory window. Colored LED lights line the perimeter of the living or sleeping area, and a cheerful design of overlapping circles in wood veneer decorates the walls. So far,only one Wheel Pad exists. Built by architecture students and professors at Norwich University in Northfield, the prototype is destined to be free-leased beginning next month by Lineberger and Cincotta's longtime friends, or the Payne-Meyers of Putney. Cynthia Payne-Meyer,59, broke her neck in Hawaii last Easter Sunday while bodysurfing with their three sons and is currently paralyzed from…
Source: sevendaysvt.com