Inclusive Living
Our Inclusive Living concept is about designing spaces that encourage independence and connection with the community.
A new way of living together
Our Inclusive Living concept envisions a better way to live for people with intellectual disabilities, who often live in homes that are not suited to their needs.
Inclusive Living brings together proven approaches into a single, delivery-ready model. It is designed to be flexible, able to respond to different sites, service partners and community settings.
Our concept is based on four principles.
Purpose-designed homes
One and two-bedrooms homes designed from the outset using universal design principles, built for supported living from the start.
Flexible layouts can welcome a family member for a short stay or simply to spend time together.
The result is a home that adapts as people’s needs evolve.
Layers of choice
A spatial framework that lets people move confidently between private, shared, and public spaces.
Transitions are gradual, and thresholds are clear, so individuals can move at their own pace as confidence grows.
Thoughtful design creates intuitive connections with the surrounding neighbourhood and clear pathways to the wider community, opening up access, participation, and belonging.
Community woven in
Homes sit within real neighbourhoods and fit their local context. Shared spaces invite informal, everyday interaction.
Ordinary encounters between residents, neighbours, and visitors build a genuine sense of belonging and create opportunities to participate in community life.
At the heart of each Inclusive Living community sits a shared hub, a space designed to bring people together without obligation.
Built on co-living principles, it bridges the private and the public. It’s a place to share a coffee or a meal, to socialise or simply be around others, to learn new skills. It also connects individuals with the wider community, where neighbours can gather and friendships form.
Supporting service delivery
Environments designed to that make support easier to provide, while keeping each person’s home private and their own.
The hub plays an important role. It gives support a clear place within the community, so it can be coordinated, responsive and available when needed, without having to sit inside each person’s private home.
When a space is designed around everyday needs, staff spend less time working around homes without enough privacy or choice. They can focus on what matters most: supporting each person’s life.
Support is shifted from reactive to intentional, from managing day-to-day issues to genuinely supporting people’s lives.
Giving people the freedom to choose
This intuitive design empowers individuals with freedom to choose:
the ability to spend time alone or with others
the level of support they need
to access support and services when needed
to have access to the broader community.
We have created an Inclusive Living model document and captured our learnings in a design guide which is being updated. You can see these here. But please watch this space as we are in the process of updating the design guidelines.
Download Inclusive Living (PDF)
Download the Neighbourhood Living design guidelines (PDF)
Please reach out to us if ADAPT can help make your development or organisation more inclusive.
Our first homes
We’re building an inclusive community where homes, green spaces, and shared facilities work together so people of all ages and abilities can thrive.
Sharing the concept
ADAPT’s vision is to see more homes built using inclusive design. That’s why we’re committed to sharing the Inclusive Living concept, not owning it.
Find out more about how we work with other organisations on our Work with us page.