From the outside, it is difficult to distinguish it from other neighboring buildings in Dinsheim-sur-Bruche (Bas-Rhin). The house is certainly on one level, but nothing indicates that it was designed to accommodate a person with reduced mobility (PRM).
Perhaps the unusually wide width of the carport? Not even. It’s inside the home that you have to go to understand. Facing the bay window sits a strange cylinder-shaped module. With three rooms on it: a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet. Without forgetting his cupboards. Ultimate feature of the famous innovation? She turns ! In a few seconds, around thirty maximum, each location becomes easily accessible. All in almost perfect silence!
“You just have to press a button, and we even have a voice command for those who can’t click,” explains Adam Bruner, who found himself unwillingly at the origin of this project imagined by his father. The young man, now 24 years old, was the victim of an accident on September 15, 2019. “I dove into a swimming pool and hit my head on the bottom. My neck and spinal cord were affected. »
Since then, he has been “incomplete quadriplegic” and cannot move many limbs. Like his lower body or his fingers. “I had more than three months of intensive care and three months of intensive care, before spending a year in a rehabilitation center,” recalls Adam Burner, who also went through PMR accommodation at the end of his long journey. There too, a bad memory…
“Give back as much freedom as possible to my son”
“I had to take three showers in three months because nothing was easy. The lift didn’t even fit in! To go to the terrace, there was a 15 centimeter step… Yes, it was PMR standards, but it was not suitable for people with reduced mobility. » Fortunately for him, all this didn’t last very long.
In May 2021, the young man returned to the family home in Boerch (Bas-Rhin) and discovered completely modified accommodation. With this famous tray near his bed. “I had to find a solution to give back as much freedom as possible to my son,” today modestly summarizes Nicolas Brunner, a goods dealer by trade who developed this project with a mechanic friend, Roland.
“He arrived with a sheet, and we thought about it,” smiles the person concerned, without hiding his pride at the result. And especially in front of Adam’s newfound enthusiasm. “Despite my disability, I think I have returned to an almost normal life. This system has changed my daily life. I can do my laundry by myself, my cooking, it’s much simpler for care…”, he explains, showing the many options.
Like this patient lift located above the bed which allows, thanks to a rail, to be placed in the bathroom effortlessly. Like this kitchen worktop adaptable to any height. Like this washing machine hanging on the wall, within his reach… And of course, like this rotating tray called “OTO, for automatic”, which allows him to have “everything two meters from the bed”.
“The system is really pleasant for him and for us, because it allows for seamless care,” says Sarah Kherfi, a home nurse who took care of him for a long time. “With other people, there are sometimes corridors or smaller rooms in which it is not practical… There, Adam can maintain a certain autonomy and he feels included in the care. He went through difficult times but now he is in a real dynamic. »
“We want to help others”
The young man and his father would now like the “OTO rotating system”, which they have patented, to be reproduced elsewhere. This is the whole meaning of this show house, produced in the workshop by the builder Booa, specialized in wooden frames. “We want to help others,” insists Nicolas Burner without wanting to give a price. “Maybe in a month, but it depends so much on each person’s needs. There are options regarding disability. We want to offer the fairest price. »
Organizations specializing in PMR certifications have already visited, and other visits are expected. “There will also be clinical tests with patients,” specifies Adam, convinced of the product’s future success. “We are even sure that it will work. The first year, we are able to release two to three models per month, but later, it may be one per day,” continues his father. “We are breaking the codes of disability. We can’t fix it, but we can help live with it thanks to technology. »