Windows of Change: A Transitional Dwelling for Milton Julian

Abstract:

While aging Americans have an overwhelming preference to live in their homes as they age, most design efforts are put into the development of assisted living centers and the like. In an effort to allow the elderly to continue to reside among their familiar and personal surroundings, homes should be a place that support lifelong residency by becoming an apparatus to aid in that process. But the needs extend beyond issues of mobility and accessibility. The home should be a place of identity that reflects the past but also allows the resident to look beyond himself and his life, and consider its context in the larger sense of community.

My investigation looks at the life and home of former Chapel Hill clothier, Milton Julian, and his last days spent in his log cabin on his former horse farm. As he prepares to make the transition to the end of his life, a place is created that absorbs the past and adapts to an existing condition. It becomes a place of identity for him and highlights his overall connection to the land. While the design delves into the detail scale of everyday elements throughout Milton’s living space, it also considers the design on a grander scale and timeline, for the family and possible visitors at some future time. Just as the home implies a sense of family and gathering, the overall design considers spaces in which family can congregate in support and fellowship for him and return to this land, in remembrance, for years to come.