BY BROOKLYN PINHEIRO
Tiny houses aren’t just for those who crave the off-the-grid minimalist lifestyle anymore. LineSync Architecture has designed the Wheel Pad, a tiny room for wheelchair users to stay connected with their families while maintaining their own privacy and independence.
“It keeps families together during crisis,” said architect Julie Lineberger. The 200-square-feet structure allows for people who have recently found themselves using a wheelchair the ability to heal while being surrounded by their family. The mobile room can be attached to an existing door of a house which allows the resident to easily access the home.
The Wheel Pad consists of a bedroom and bathroom, both designed with accessibility in mind. While building this project the architects consulted with wheelchair users and home nursing staff to best provide a residence that was both aesthetically pleasing and practical to the needs of its inhabitants.
Some features the structure boasts are doors which can swing both ways, collapsible tables, reachable switches and outlets, bathroom handrails, and a ceiling lift which makes getting in and out of bed or to the shower much easier. All this while being surprisingly spacious for a small structure allowing wheelchairs to move freely.
With this design the staff at LineSync aim to provide a pleasant environment for people to make an easier transition after experiencing a change in mobility. “We know people heal faster, stronger, better, if they can do it at home,” said architect Joseph Cincotta.