When Jean-Yves Prodel, who lives alone and uses a wheelchair,
bought a 20-year-old house in this town just north of Paris in
2005, he hired an architect to remake it following the
principles of universal design. As Prodel soon discovered,
however, his architect had no idea what that meant; moreover, he
made Prodel feel like a bit of an idiot. “I told him I needed
the floors to be flat everywhere — into the shower, out to the
patio, from room to room,” Prodel said, recalling the day they
first toured the house together. “He kept saying, ‘It’s
impossible — no, it’s not possible.’ It was the start of a big
nightmare, a really big nightmare.” The arguments went on for
months, and Stephane Du Bois, a Belgian technician who was
installing an automated-lighting system in the house, couldn’t
help overhearing them. One day, after the architect left, he
decided to intervene. He told Prodel that he was an architect
himself and would be happy to take over the job. Four years
later, the house is still a work in progress.