Designing Accessible Housing in New York State -- A Commitment to Supportive and Inclusive Housing

How can you make housing more inclusive and accommodating for people with disabilities? This episode explores Ari Aufgang’s journey into creating supportive and inclusionary housing, his challenges, and the lessons he has learned along the way. He covers topics such as accessibility features for people with disabilities, how to manage public perception of inclusionary housing, and how to choose economical yet attractive elements when designing a building. 

Join us as we dive into understanding the needs of various populations and creating community within their designs!

Ariel joined his firm at 18 while still a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As a close, personal consultant to Aufgang clients, Ariel provides a full range of services, including land use consultation, peer review, design services, planning, and construction administration.

[00:01 - 08:17] Opening Segment

• Designing inclusive and supportive housing in New York City

A design firm focused on architectural design, in-house engineering, and sustainability

• 5-10% of units are adapted before opening for wheelchair accessibility

• Preference is given to disabled people for accessible units

[08:18 - 15:26] Exploring the Needs of Different Populations

• How working with nonprofit developers has educated for-profit developers

Almost half of the clients are not-for-profit developers, bringing people with special needs

• Learning from both market-rate rental and supportive/low-income rental

• Unique design considerations for luxury housing in New York City

[15:27 - 22:23] Overcoming Challenges in Inclusionary Housing

• How Ari learned to choose economical yet functional and attractive elements for low-income housing

• The challenges of inclusionary housing in NYC

Cultural issues and public perception

• How diverse community within the building serves everybody

[22:24 - 27:40] Understanding the Needs of Residents

• Ari's experience in residential high-rise construction

• The importance of understanding the needs of potential residents

• Ari's mother encouraged him to get a title, and he became an architect.

Why housing has always been important to Ari

[27:41 - 31:40] Closing Segment

• Big firms are now getting into housing, which was not seen before

• Interacting with potential residents is essential to understand their needs

Key Quotes:

“Anytime we work with a particular population, one of the greatest parts of the process is learning the needs because it's never what you think it might be." - Ariel Aufgang

"You never know what people need. We have guidelines you could follow, which are great, but they are just the average. You never know what the average is." - Ariel Aufgang

Please check out videos of many of the podcast episodes on my YouTube channel: Accessible Housing Matters,

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Accessible Housing Matters is dedicated to raising awareness about important issues around accessibility and housing and getting conversations going.

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