Built to accommodate disabilities, Green Bay’s ‘universal design’ housing projects increase value for everyone, advocates say
GREEN BAY – Joe Trawitzki didn’t fully understand what he’d gotten himself into until he found himself being measured for a toilet.
Trawitzki, a Milwaukee native who loves baseball and cooking, moved to Green Bay two years ago when he married his wife, Alyssa. He also has acromegaly, a disorder that makes his body continue to produce human growth hormone, which causes his bones to continue to grow.
When the couple decided to build a new home, they hired Pat Drury, of Drury Designs Inc. to design a custom home that would meet Joe’s needs as he aged. What they didn’t expect was Drury’s zeal for “universal design,” a homebuilding concept that builds in adaptable features that allow a home to be used by anyone, regardless of ability, so more people can age there without having to move.
They realized just how serious Drury took it when they met with him about a bathroom in the Trawitzkis five-bedroom home on Nicolet Drive.
