Gizmo House Receives Makeover   Take a Look at the Makeover Pictures!   This summer, well known designer, Martin Amado, host of WSVN Channel 7’s “Room for Improvement” and owner of The Wow Factor! Inc. lent his talent and skills to the Ann Storck Center in a masterful transformation of the living area of the Center’s Gizmo House.    Gizmo House, which opened in 2000, is a specialized “smart home” for six of the Center’s residents.  The technologically and architecturally adapted home enables its residents the freedom and accessibility to live as independently as possible.  Touch screen computers located throughout the home and adhered to the residents’ wheelchairs allow the residents to control elements of their home with the ease, such as opening and closing doors, controlling lighting, and adjusting the height of countertops to accommodate height of their wheelchairs.    “With the independence that the Gizmo House residents experience, it’s no wonder the home is so well worn,” said Executive Director Jim McGuire.  “Any family home needs a well deserved makeover from time to time.  And that what Gizmo House is, a family home.”    The project, which was also made possible thanks to generous donations from City Furniture, who donated more than $3,000 in furniture, Lowe’s Pompano Beach store, and America’s Total Home Improvement, will be featured in the fall issue of DUO Magazine, a publication dedicated to recognizing organizations and individuals who “do good” in the South Florida community.   “We are so thankful to Martin Amado, City Furniture, Lowe’s and DUO Magazine for making this renovation happen,” added McGuire.  “Thanks to their efforts the residents of Gizmo House have a brand new living area to enjoy.”

 

The first-of-its-kind in the nation and perhaps the world, our high-tech computerized "smart home" allows six residents to live an environment where they can independently act on their choices with the exceptional assistive technology in their own home. A single-family home set in a suburban neighborhood, Gizmo House allows its residents to control everything in the house through a touch-screen mounted on each of their wheelchairs.

 

Residents operate everything from rotating pantry shelves and countertop height to speakerphones and doors. Gizmo has been deemed by the media as the ultimate independent living and learning environment.

 

"Our Center's whole philosophy is to 'Discover Abilities and Build Independence'," said Jim McGuire, executive director of the Center. "While our residents lived at the Ann Storck Center in Fort Lauderdale, they discovered their abilities. We just helped by building a home where they could have their independence."
 

The staff knew they had children and adults who presented severe and multiple disabilities but who could live virtually assistance free if they found the right technology. The Dream Team assembled for Gizmo House achieved that goal. The team, comprised of Bruce Wrobel of South Eastern Design, Ed Elwell of John R. Elwell Construction and Wayne Jessup of Harper and Associates are the technology designer, contractor and architect (respectively) whose collective talents made this dream come true. 

 

After raising $800,000 for the development of Gizmo House, the Ann Storck Center is planning to raise an additional $500,000 for the sequel, Project H.O.P.E. (Home of Personal Excellence). The Center has property and is working with Harper Partners to design the similar type home for younger residents.

"In the past two years the Center has gained considerable expertise and experience in the application of assistive technology," McGuire said. "It is our dream that there will be no boundaries to the levels of independence that these individuals will achieve as a result of the wedding of technology, architectural adaptation and a commitment to caring within the Ann Storck Center." 

 

"We created a unique wheelchair mounted custom touchscreen application that enables each resident to operate everything; doors, speakerphones and table tops, with a touch of an image," said Wrobel. "A resident chooses from several Gizmo icons within their view by pressing the image. It signals the computer that they want to control that object and then they can run all the components."

 

"Gizmo House is the standard by which all future group homes will be measured," said Marvin Gutter, president of the Ann Storck Center's Board of Directors. "It will not only change the lives of its six young residents, but may potentially and very positively impact the lives of 50 million Americans with developmental disabilities." 

 

 

Please go to the Videos Section to see the Opening of Gizmo House!

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