Teen designs home for the disabled | Community Spirit

Bella Carriker, of Mercer Island, and Leta Rose Scott, of Kirkland, are closer than most 13-year-olds and their godmothers. Leta has been friends with Bella’s mother for at least 20 years, and actually “caught” Bella when she was born. Every Friday night, the two have a standing date.

“We have had a really strong relationship through her 13 years,” Leta says.

So Bella is keenly aware of the struggles her godmother faces. Leta has lost both of her legs. In 2000 she was bit by a brown recluse spider and developed a staph infection. Leta soon lost her right leg and, in 2008, the infection forced Leta to amputate her left leg as well. Today, she lives most of her life in a wheelchair.

“It’s really hard for me to see her constantly not being able to do things that most people take for granted,” Bella said.

With a passion for architecture and a deep desire to help her godmother, Bella organized a workshop with the Seattle Architecture Foundation at GGLO Architecture to teach teens about the design needs of the diabled.

“Sometimes it’s impossible for her to go into a store,” Bella said. “Ramps are in really awkward places where you have to walk all the way around or elevators are always in back corners.”

Currently, Leta rents a home in Kirkland that was not designed for someone in a wheelchair. She cannot use her bathtub or shower, has to use a bedside toilet and cannot reach her stovetop or kitchen cabinets. She cannot be on her lawn or access her deck.

Bella worked with other teens to design a home that would meet Leta’s needs.

 “I used to love to cook, and now I can’t,” Leta said. “I can’t even really enjoy the outdoor spaces. Having a house that is designed for my situation would be a blessing.”

Local architects, including Warren Pollock, volunteered their time to teach the teens. Pollock learned the hard way how important it is to consider the handicapped when designing a building.

“I was working when the accessibility code came into existence and I really thought it was just a pain in the neck,” Pollock said. “It didn’t seem like it was necessary. But, at the end of my career, I’m handicapped. I have multiple sclerosis. Suddenly, the extensions on stairs and hand rails make perfect sense to me. If I hadn’t done that in some of my earlier buildings I wouldn’t be able to get into them now.”

If Bella grows up to be an architect as planned, she will remember the needs of the disabled.

“I think it’s really important for people to design buildings for a person’s entire life, not just one part of their life.”