Smart Livable Homes & Shared Solutions America

(Founded: 2000): We are a national non-profit organization and Research Center providing education, training, workshops, and consulting services                                                                                                                                                                                                "All Age-Friendly Living Environments"          

What we all want most in life is the ability to achieve maximum independent and safe daily living.   New homes can be built, and existing homes modified, in ways that will help people achieve this goal.  

Often, simple living environment changes can make homes more user-friendly and prevent about one-third of all home accidents.  These changes provide a more comfortable, functional, efficient, and safe living environment for ALL family members.

Common Terms

Definition: "Universal Design" is the process of designing products, living, working, and playing environments, that are usable, to the greatest extent possible, by most people regardless of their age, size, or level of abilities, at most stages of life.  It helps people maximize their ability to better perform daily living tasks and activities, while maintaining a high degree of independence and safety.  It is not limited to housing alone, but also includes products, technologies, and information systems unrelated to housing.  It is sometimes referred to as "Aging-in-Place Design", or "Lifespan Design".  It is more inclusive-based "good design" because it includes the abilities and needs of the widest range of people of all ages.                                                                                                                                                        Definition: "Accessible Design" includes the above, but goes an important step further.    It includes accessible and adaptive features, products, and technologies that help people with specific physical and/or developmental disabilities better deal with their daily living challenges.  Assistive and adaptive technologies can help people who have difficulty walking, bending, getting up and sitting down, climbing up and down stairs, lifting, reaching, grasping, seeing, hearing, and cognition. 

Accessible Design also requires education, training, experience, and expertise in understanding the nature of specific disabilities, and how each affects ones ability to move around and function well.  It includes training in the use of manual and power mobility devices, including lift-and-transfer, stair-lifts, and adaptive equipment, etc.   

Definition: "Smart Livable Homes Design" includes both of the aforementioned...and goes a great deal further.  It is about "Designing for Wellness". It applies "Evidence Based Design", which brings forth a whole new dimension to product design, and living environment design in both new construction, and renovation.

Smart Livable Homes Design successfully applies proven advanced building science technologies utilizing innovative materials, products, and methods that work.  It includes energy-efficiency, lighting science, indoor air quality technology, and much more.

The following video is a walk-through of one of our AARP National Event factory-built affordable Universal Design featured "Show Homes", designed and developed by Laurence Weinstein. (Click on the video to begin playing)

Our Mission

To educate architects, designers, builders, remodelers, contractors, health care professionals, design students, and consumers, how to build new, and modify existing living environments, incorporating Smart Livable Homes features, details, and technologies, to make the place we call home "all-age friendly".

To help people of all ages...especially those with physical and/or cognitive challenges achieve and maintain maximum daily living independence and safety in their homes.

"Innovative Design - Healing Environments"

About the Founder, Laurence "Larry" Weinstein

Educated at Pratt Institute: Architectural and Product Design, and also a Korean veteran.  Larry's former career was as the founder and CEO of a successful commercial and residential Design/Build firm for over four decades, with offices in three major cities. 

Larry's numerous design/build projects consisted of a great amount of new and renovated office, commercial, hospitality, retail, industrial, hospital, and medical facilities, plus many single and multi-family living environment projects.  A good number of his projects focused on designing and building both on-site and modular living environments for older adults, and also for people of all ages with disabilities.

Since 1998, Mr. Weinstein has dedicated his life's mission to helping people of all ages make certain changes in their homes to allow them to live with maximum independence comfort, safely, and energy-efficiency, by teaching them about universal, accessible, and adaptive design.  Larry was the AARP National Events & Expos - "Livable Housing Consultant" for two decades.  He works with many national and local organizations, and continues to be involved with AARP.  He actively presents lectures and workshops at many events and conferences.  He has been a presenter in conjunction with AIA, California Abilities Expo and AARP Events, plus other national, regional, and local events.  Mr. Weinstein has written, and continues to write numerous articles that appear in national and local magazines and other publications, about designing and building living environments that incorporate new and innovative materials, products, and technologies that help people achieve and maintain enjoyable, safe, sustainable, energy-smart, and maximum independent living.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         "To serve...Not to be served"