TA24-J F-Pages - Flipbook - Page 41
Voices
The Opportunity
Unfortunately, accessible design remains perfunctory, misunderstood, and even overlooked in some
instances. For example, the $40 million Hunters
Point Library in New York was completed in 2019.
Upon its opening, three tiers of extensive bookshelves
were inaccessible other than via stairs and now stand
completely empty — an inexcusable oversight given
that the ADA and model codes have been in e昀昀ect
for more than 33 years. Litigation quickly followed.
Even without the sword of Damocles of accessibility laws, designers are generally benevolent
people who understand the inherent fairness of
equitable access to public spaces. The ADAI is
not meant to denigrate the design, education,
or accreditation industries. These three domains
have evolved in their own directions and services
to society. Instead, the premise of the ADAI is that
academia is best poised to correct the disparities
of our present sociological situation and turn the
sword into a plowshare.
The current piecemeal approach of teaching the
accessible design principles that impact almost 43
million Americans is commonly done via continuing education in conferences, webinars, and other
voluntary venues. The results are varying levels of
competency, e昀昀ectiveness, and consistency among
professionals in understanding and creating usable
accessible design. Ongoing trainings are o昀昀ered by
groups like the United States Access Board (USAB),
Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the
International Code Council that author many of
the regulations and codes. Other excellent programs are o昀昀ered through the American Institute of
Architects (AIA) and its a昀케liate chapters, the ADA
National Network (ADANN), the National ADA
Symposium, the ADA Coordinator Certi昀椀cation
Training Program (ACTCP), the Certi昀椀ed Accessibility Specialist Institute (CASI), the Accessibility
Professionals Association (APA), and many others
providing ongoing conferences and webinars.
Taken separately or together, none of these
disparate agencies and sporadic educational programs o昀昀er the e昀昀ectiveness, depth, and scope of
an accredited academic setting where students
receive years of constant focused and measured
professional instruction. Some advantages include
consistent attendance, competency in application,
research collection and analysis, peer-reviewed
publication, examination psychometrics, performance-based assessments, studios, and other
modalities used every day in colleges and universities. Standardizing accessible design accreditation
objectives before students enter the profession is
pivotal to establishing a consistent knowledge base.
The Landscape of Access
Accessibility standards operate within an intertwined personal, medical, cultural, regulatory,
anthropometric, ergonomic, public health, and
architectural framework. That framework and its
in昀氀uences are often unseen and unknown by the
able-bodied and those outside the 昀椀eld of accessibility, yet each can impact the facility’s end users.
Well-rounded design professionals are conversant in the entire milieu within which accessible
design functions, not just regulations and codes.
The ADAI BPG proposes drawing students into
the human scale of living with impairments when
using a facility, while at the same time presenting
the 40,000-foot view of the industry.
The meta message is about not just design
minimums, but also comprehending the immutable realities affecting building users who have
impairments in mobility, sight, hearing, manipulating/operating parts and elements, and way昀椀nding; chemical sensitivities; and more. Inspiring the
future generations of designers toward a more
empathic and deeper cultural understanding of
the challenges faced by persons with disabilities
is equally as important as teaching the technical
applications.
Students can be introduced to the thematic
accessibility principles that embody the accessibility standards by spotlighting the chapters, topics,
and applications of each without delving into the
minutiae of hundreds of pages of text, graphs,
tables, illustrations, and other details. This exposure establishes a usable, sustainable, and enduring foundation for students to understand how
the standards apply in the profession, and exactly
where to research the 昀椀ner details. This method is
also not reliant on teaching the most current edition of either standard, allowing schools more 昀氀exibility in curricula and other practicalities as new
editions are published.
There are other less obvious benefits to the
ADAI. Design school graduates are more attractive to employers when they have the necessary skills
to apply key accessible design principles, which can
mean the di昀昀erence between a building permit or
litigation for non-compliance. Subsequently, these
schools are more attractive to students and their
families by o昀昀ering enhanced employment skills and
opportunities. A proposed component of the education is intended to impart identi昀椀cation and understanding of the meaning of interacting with the
built environment with a disability. Topics include:
3. Accessibility as a function of civil rights
4. Adaptive versus accessible design in housing
5. Performance versus prescriptive accessible
design
6. Accessible design compliance on local and
federal levels
7. Aging in place in extended care, housing, and
employment settings
8. Ways of thinking: Inclusive, universal, and
accessible design approaches
9. Scoping: Overview of principles in existing
facilities, alterations, and new construction
An Invitation
The purpose of this article is to elevate the discussion and to advocate for participation in this notable
initiative. Support, insights, and suggestions from
the design community are irreplaceable and represent the same philosophy behind this initiative to
date: collaboration. The coalition behind the ADAI
consists of some of the most eminent names and
organizations in the 昀椀elds of accessible design, accessibility, codes, and regulations today, and more are
always welcome. Some of these include the United
States Access Board (USAB), the ICC/ANSI A117
Committee, the Association of Licensed Architects
(ALA), the American Schools of Interior Design
(ASID), and the State of California Division of the
State Architect, among others.
Famous Last Words
To quote the executive director of the United States
Access Board, Dr. Sachin Dev Pavithran: “A foundational approach that embodies the characteristic
design principles of the 2010 ADA Standards for
Accessible Design, the applicable International
Code Council model codes, and the ICC/ANSI
A117.1 Standard for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities is a commonsense methodology
for educating our upcoming generations of designers. Your ADAI program will undoubtedly improve
the lives of people with disabilities, the education
of design students, the built environment, and the
academic and technical professions.”
For information and tools to support the ADAI, please visit
gpadacenter.org/accessible-design-accreditation-initiative.
Richard Sternadori, MA. Arch., M. Ed., Assoc. AIA,
is the senior program coordinator, researcher, and
honorary faculty at the Great Plains ADA Center,
University of Missouri, Department of Architectural
Studies. He is a member of the TxA Equity, Diversity,
1. Accessibility as human-scale design
2. Accessibility as improving good design
and Inclusion Committee and the International Code
Council Assisted Toileting and Bathing Committee.
1/2 2024
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