People first. Always. That is the number one value of Vera Living, a registered Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) provider. They design housing with the purpose of accommodating to the specific lifestyle needs of their tenants empowering them to obtain a high level of independence.
Vera Living homes incorporate design elements that support a range of physical and cognitive abilities, for instance, specialised lighting design that is responsive to sensory stimulus to automate the control of blinds/curtains, lights, doors and windows. They can also incorporate design elements that accommodate to specific physical and mobility support needs with the likes of wide doorways for wheelchair access or modified bathrooms and kitchens with height-adjustable benchtops.
“The goal for our homes is to provide increased independence, safety and comfort for our tenants. The assistive technology we use in the homes is critical in helping us achieve these goals.”
Harry Mitchell, Development Manager, Vera Living
A 2021 construction project that consisted of seven properties built in Coomera and Pallara is a quintessence of Vera Living's phenomenal work. The assistive technology integrated into these homes is made up of two parts: the actual devices (e.g., automatic doors, motorised blinds, etc.) and the system to control these devices.
The critical aspect of each building is choosing the most appropriate technology for the building to meet the tenants' needs. Our Stratus team collaborated with Vera Living to design and implement a control system that enables the assistive technology devices to be used in a manner that best suits the individual needs of each tenant, as such:
- Customisable app on a personal device
- Voice control
- Accessibility features on an iPad
- Smart switches on the walls
The crux of these SDA homes is KNX, an open standard system that was developed to allow products from different manufacturers to work seamlessly together in controlling all aspects of a building, like lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation, blinds/shutters, security and door communication systems, audio and video, and metering.
In each of these SDA houses KNX is the hub that links all the different assistive technology devices. Its functions include switching on a light from a smart wall switch, using voice control to open and close blinds, sending a live video link to a personal device when the front doorbell is rung with an option to open the front door. The technologies used in these homes are integrated across the KNX system and include products from brands such as Theben, ABB, Hafele, TosiBox and CoolAutomation.
Stratus uses Ivory Egg Australia team's technical prowess to advise on the finest and latest product selection, while also ensuring the products selected are future proofed. Ivory Egg is a technical distributor of the world's most renowned building technologies, supplying and educating trade installers on the greatest ways to create intelligent buildings to suit the needs of their clients.
“I’m thrilled to see that building intelligence is being incorporated into homes for people living with disability. These smart technologies make such a difference to the way people can live their lives, and when it is planned from the outset of a building project, like we do with Vera Living, we can make amazing things happen – automatically.”
David Tattersall, General Manager, Stratus Integrated Systems
Click here to see a 3D walkthrough of one of these properties
For more information about these SDA homes, visit: www.veraliving.com.au