Erick Mikiten Has a Vision for the House You’ll Grow Old In

The architect and universal design expert transformed a wheelchair user’s Berkeley home with an inconspicuous elevator. But he believes there are many ways to approach aging in place.

Oct 3, 2023 - 20:34

Erick Mikiten Has a Vision for the House You’ll Grow Old In

The architect and universal design expert transformed a wheelchair user’s Berkeley home with an inconspicuous elevator. But he believes there are many ways to approach aging in place.

When Berkeley residents Fran and her husband, Chris, first contacted architect Erick Mikiten, they were facing the difficult choice of either selling their beloved home or pursuing extensive remodeling to include the addition of an elevator. If they were going to hang onto their century-old Craftsman-inspired residence in the Berkeley Hills, it would need to better accommodate Fran, whose multiple sclerosis was severely limiting her mobility.

Now three years after a renovation by Mikiten, they have no regrets: "Erick’s ideas were radically different than the other architects we consulted because he didn’t separate accessibility from the overall design," says Fran. "Our home now far exceeds anything we could have imagined."

The Berkeley, California architect is uniquely qualified when it comes to universal design, an approach to creating places that considers the needs of everyone—regardless of age, size, or physical and cognitive ability. For more than three decades, he’s been building a diverse portfolio of residential, commercial, and multifamily projects, including much-needed local affordable housing. And he’s been navigating it all from the vantage of his wheelchair.

In fact, it was his disability that steered him toward design, he says. Osteogenesis imperfecta causes bones to easily fracture or break, so Mikiten spent a lot of time during childhood convalescing at home, contemplating and making drawings of the physical spaces he occupied.

Today, even though it’s been 33 years since the legislation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, introduced just a year before he established his practice, the architect still sees plenty of room for improvement in his industry. And he is determined to fill that space.

Before, Fran, who uses a wheelchair, had difficulty leaving her Berkeley home since its only access was a set of 22 stairs. — Before, Fran, who uses a wheelchair, had difficulty leaving her 3,000-square-foot Berkeley home since its only access was a set of 22 stairs.
Courtesy of Mikiten Architecture

Architect Erik Mikiten created an expansion housing an elevator that provides access to the home’s three levels, as well as the garage. — Architect Erick Mikiten created an expansion housing an elevator that provides access to the home’s four levels.
Courtesy of Mikiten Architecture

"The profession is still falling into a set of assumptions that often make accessible solutions not great architectural solutions," says Mikiten. "We see solutions that don’t accept the duality of accessibility and artistic design; we see lots of ‘either-or’ solutions. I’m here to change that."

Recently, he started a new design firm, The Art of Access, as a vehicle to "advocate for radical levels of UD," as he says, and showcase how accessibility and aesthetics are by no means incompatible.

Over a video call with Mikiten, we discussed his approach to the Berkeley project, as well as current industry challenges and opportunities around universal design, the Boomer-driven demand for "aging-in-place," and multigenerational housing.