Young and old had the chance to tour a small new house, known as a Minka home, on the campus at the University of Southern Indiana (USI).
In less than a week, workers built this house from premade parts.
The house is a product of a yearlong collaboration between USI and Dr. Bill Thomas, a geriatrician and CEO of Minka.
Thomas said the house will be a tool to study how the elderly can maintain independence as they age. "USI is going to be a leader in aging and independence-oriented aging, and this is going to be the laboratory that guides that work," he said.
Ann White is dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. She said the house has created new ways to work across disciplines.
"Nursing and health professions has probably never worked with engineering," White said. "Now, we have done a considerable number of projects with engineering and hopefully we’ll have the chance to do more and more."
There are talks about future collaboration between Thomas and the university, including a possible community of Minka houses near campus.
