POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Universal Design Handbook Chp. 12: U.S. accessibility codes and standards Thu. 이 동 훈

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Contents  Introduction & background  History of accessibility codes in the United States  The ADA  Performance versus prescriptive criteria  Lack of a statistical ergonomic database  The future of accessibility standards  Conclusions 2

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Introduction & background  The United States  The Americans with Disabilities Act  Effective implementation of accessibility codes and standards  Education of and the availability of appropriately formatted information To those who must create or implementation the design  Accessibility vs. universal design  Accessibility Function of compliance with regulations or criteria that establish a minimum level of design necessary to accommodate people with disabilities  Universal design Art and practice of design to accommodate the widest variety and number of people throughout their life spans Human needs and abilities, technologies, …  improve, evolve, change, …  Decision-making process: universal designing (Steinfeld, 1997)  Not fixed criteria 3

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory History of accessibility codes in the United States (1/2)  Accessibility codes  Appearing in the last 40 years of the 20 th century  ANSI A117.1 (the first standard in 1961) Making Buildings and Facilities Accessible to, and Usable by the Physically Handicapped  Accessibility standards  Direct outgrowth of the changing demographics that followed advances in medical technology A large population of young Americans with disabilities  rehabilitation & education  American politics and opinion  U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964  Three formal levels of guidance  Laws General rules that require more specific regulations to be developed, implemented, and enforced  Regulations Detailed implementations and procedures  Standards Technical criteria surrounding an issue area (not enforceable) Affecting to develop The ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) 4

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory History of accessibility codes in the United States (2/2)  ANSI A117.1 – Where it all started  Basis for regulations The Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design (MGRAD) in 1981, the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standard (UFAS) in 1985, the ADAAG in 1991, …  The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968  ANSI vs. ADAAG  ANSI A117 Committee  1998 version of the ANSI Standard  ADAAG Review Federal Advisory Committee  ADAAG 2000  State and local building codes  Construction nightmare in the 1970s and 1980s  ambiguity and conflict in 2000s Added local amendments and interpretations  How minimums becomes maximums  Accessibility regulations typically establish minimum criteria As efficient as possible, no more than the regulations require, to the minimum requirements possible  Resulting in the minimums becoming the maximums 5

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory The ADA  Two sections directly affecting the construction of buildings  Title Ⅱ : State and Local Governments Assure nondiscrimination in the provision of services  Title Ⅲ : Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any private entity who owns, leases, or operates a place of public accommodation 6

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Performance versus prescriptive criteria  Performance codes  Identify the ultimate operation or function of an element or space Ex. A wall assembly must be able to withstand a fire for a specific period of time  Easier writing  Evaluate and enforce  Prescriptive codes (U.S.)  Explain to a greater or lesser degree how a space or element must be designed to satisfy the codes Ex. A wall must be constructed of specific materials organized in a specific design, such as two layers of ½-in gypsum wallboard over a 4-in metal stud wall  Easier to follow and enforce  Very tedious to develop and write, stifle design creativity 7

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Lack of a statistical ergonomic database  The specificity of the level of detail in the technical criteria of U.S. accessibility standards  Substantial body of ergonomic data  Most of the criteria in the present  Small study group  Decisions on personal experiences influenced by anecdotal evidence  Development of dependable statistical ergonomic data  The Access Board & NIDRR (in the late 1990s) Establish more reliable standards Justify alternative solutions  Meet the intent of performance-based language 8

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory The future of accessibility standards  International consistency  It will become increasingly difficult to justify national or regional differences in accessibility criteria Ex. Multinational hotel chains  Marketplace is demanding accessibility at a rate that is outstripping accessibility standards  Businesses must provide a consistent level of quality  Establish researched and ergonomically-based performance criteria  Performance standards: for understanding of how to create universal designs 9

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Conclusions  Most building designers, developers, and construction professionals lack an understanding of  The changing needs and abilities of our society  Thus, how to develop appropriate universal design solutions  Further regulation will never resolve a variety of problems  The solution is appropriately targeted educational materials and programs  While basic principles may be the same everywhere, t he information needed by individuals who are expected to apply that information is very different  Unfortunately, such interactive and customized formats are still limited in availability and not widely disseminated Ex. CAD software  Once society begins to develop appropriate informational and educational tools  There will be more widespread application of accessibility, and eventually a demand by consumers for the superior performance of universal design will overtake the need for prescriptive standards 10