Outdoor, Back Yard, Large Pools, Tubs, Shower, Wood Patio, Porch, Deck, Grass, Swimming Pools, Tubs, Shower, and Large Patio, Porch, Deck Twenty-foot-wide doors from Solar Innovations offer easy access to the deck. “Solar Innovations was the only manufacturer at that time that had a pocket multi-slider with a good ADA threshold,” says architect Erick Mikiten. “They almost look like steel, but are thermally broken aluminum.” Photo 5 of 5 in A Dream Home is an Architectural Self-Portrait from This Home Proclaims Wheelchair Access Shouldn’t End Outdoors

A Dream Home is an Architectural Self-Portrait

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Melanie Maher and her husband, David, understand firsthand how the built environment can pose challenges to a wheelchair user. Melanie, who has muscular dystrophy, had grown accustomed to encountering obstacles with her motorized chair both at home and in the community. As the couple began thinking about building a multigenerational house in Northern California’s Livermore Valley, their goal was clear. As David recalls: "We decided it would be nice to design a place that didn’t require us to make so many compromises." Enter Erick Mikiten. Raised in Texas, the Berkeley-based architect is a proponent of universally designed environments that are usable by all.

Photo Categories: Outdoor, Back Yard, Large Pools, Tubs, Showers, Wood Patio, Porch, Deck, Grass, Swimming Pools, Tubs, Showers, Large Patio, Porch, Deck