The Sleepover Project

Creativity flows out of some people as easily as lava flows from a volcano. I am not one of those people. I suppose there are those that would argue with me because I am a writer. But, other than a few creative words on occasion, my creative juices sit below sea level. I admire those that can sew up an outfit without a pattern – how do they do that? Equally impressive are the ones that can mix and match spices that I’ve never heard of, all without a recipe, and walla – out comes a dish to die for. And there’s the person that can look at a room and transform it into something beautiful, all in a days work.

I am in awe of folks that God slapped with that extra measure of  “Creative DNA.” That is why I found the story of David Dillard intriguing. David does not use his creativity only for those activities he enjoys doing in his leisure time; he brought his creative abilities to the workplace.

David Dillard is the president of D2 Architecture in Dallas, Texas. His firm is known for the senior housing campuses they design. Mr. Dillard wanted his young architects not only to build quality buildings, but to really understand the folks they were building these villages for. It was his goal that his employees would come to know what this senior population needed from a building firm.

This is when Mr. Dillard launched The Sleepover Project. His young crew puts on pajamas and they spend 24 hours in a senior living center and live as if they are 80 or 90 years old. To simulate hearing loss, they wear earplugs. They swap glasses with another crew member to get a sense of the lack of visual acuity. They even tape fingers together on each hand to get the feel of the loss of mobility as when having arthritis.

Living with those who will live with what you have built has been an eye opener for Dave Dillard’s employees. Some of the things they found were that window sills were too high for residents and they could not see out. That resulted in D2 Architecture increasing the size of the windows they install by 10-20%. They also found that the elderly didn’t function well with direct lighting because it hurts their eyes. Dave’s company installs indirect lighting by using ceiling fans and light fixtures that shield the light source. The residents told them they didn’t want ramps or steps and D2 Architecture listened –  none of those bad boys! One crew member stayed in a facility where a hard of hearing resident kept his TV on so loud it disturbed the resident across the hall. The solution was quite simple and the cost the same – stagger the doorways so they aren’t directly across from each other.

How did Dave Dillard get this creative notion? “I want to build for people as opposed to building fancy beautiful buildings.” The best way he could do that was to send his employees into live with those that would be living daily with his product. Each crew member is required to keep a journal of their stay and then each bring it back to the table for discussion.

I am hopeful by reading the creativity stories of others, my lava will begin to flow. By this time next month, I just might have that bedroom painted.

Until next month, keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.