Produced monthly by Elaine Ostroff in cooperation with
the Adaptive Environments Center, Boston, MA., USA

Volume 1, Number 4, APRIL 1999

Contents:

• Editor’s Note
• News from the Global Network
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Ireland
  • Japan
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
• CALL for Proposals, Designing for the 21^st Century II
• Student Design Competition, Designing for the 21^st Century II
• Global Universal Design Educators' Network e-mail list
• Adding your information, questions to the Online News

EDITOR’S NOTE:

This issue contains several items on the linkage between universal design and disability. We welcome references that illustrate other sources and impetus for universal design.

Previous issues of the Online News will soon be available at http://www.adaptenv.org in the Universal Design section. At this time, new subscribers who want prior issues (January, February, March) can request them from Elaine Ostroff at elaine@ostroff.org.

Thanks to David Durling, the editor of the Design Research News for his technical assistance in the early development of this monthly news. The DRS News, the electronic newsletter of the Design Research Society is the model that inspired the creation of the Global Universal Design Educator’s Online News. For information on how to subscribe to the DRS News, or to view the archives, go to: http://www.drs.org.uk/PubMenu.html

Thanks to John Salmen, Publisher of the Universal Design Newsletter as a source for some of the calendar listings included here. You can see sample issues of this excellent quarterly print newsletter at: http://www.UniversalDesign.com/.

Back to Contents

From Australia:

• The Universal Design Conference to be held in Perth, Australia, is sponsored by the Royal Design Institute (West Australia Chapter), the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (WA Chapter), and the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (WA Chapter). The Universal Design Conference will focus on retail design and include a design competition. John Salmen, AIA, of Universal Designers and Consultants, Inc., will present the keynote address. For more information, contact Pip Daly Smith at pip.dalysmith@dsc.wa.gov.au.

Back to Contents

From Canada:

• Corrected information:

  The Fourth Global Conference, International Federation for Aging, and the Universal Design Track: the contact person for information about the September 5-9, 1999 conference can be reached at: ageingconf@jpdl.com

• Updated information:

  The Universal Design In The City beyond 2000 conference to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba September 30 - October 2, 1999: invited guest speakers are Jerome Bickenbach, Jon Breen, Pamela Cluff, Robert Shibley, Ed Steinfeld, and Leslie Weisman. For information, contact: pparch@cc.umanitoba.ca.

Back to Contents

From Ireland:

• Ruth Morrow, of the DraWare Project, School of Architecture, University College Dublin describes their work: The DraWare project is funded by European Union Social Fund through their funding programme - HORIZON - which focuses on getting people with disabilities into the workplace. The argument for this project was that the workplace will remain inaccessible as long as architects continue to think and design in the way that they do.

  The part of the project that exists in the school of architecture has to respect the existing structures so we try our best to 'infiltrate' all years of the course, in both the design studio and lecture courses. However we have realised that the best way to attract attention is by 'design' success so we are presently investing some of our funding in a high profile project. The project is a sense installation designed and built by a group of 4th year students, in the middle of the quadrangle that the schools of architecture and planning border. It is extremely visible and will be the focus of our end of term celebrations on Friday the 5th March. We hope to have this displayed on our web site at http://avc.ucd.ie/DraWare

  Perhaps our most noticeable success to date has been persuading the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland to change their Part III Professional Practise Examination to include Universal Design. Part III are the professional exams that all young architects must successfully complete before they can register professionally. We are also delivering lectures as part of the Institutes Continued Professional Development Course for Architects in practise. We have established links to 2 TV programmes on the built environment and hope that in the coming year the principals of universal design will be disseminated to the wider public.

  Between now and June we have 5 regional events around Ireland that the DraWare Team will either host, with the aid of other groups (e.g. local access groups, community regeneration groups, or the national disability organizations) or we have identified people who can give suitable presentations on our behalf. Our intention is to plant as many little seeds as possible before the project ends.

  This is a brief description of the major things that we do. Perhaps more importantly than the events and actions that we undertake is that we are also documenting our failures and trying to understand why they occur.

  Ruth Morrow, email: ruth.morrow@ucd.ie
  DraWareSchool of Architecture
  University College Dublin
  Richview, Clonskeagh
  Dublin 14, Ireland
  tel: +353 1 706 2769
  fax: +353 1 283 7778
  http://avc.ucd.ie/DraWare

Back to Contents

From Japan:

• The Tokyo Design Network

  Founded in 1990, the Tokyo Design Network strives to develop, communicate and practice a new global design philosophy which links people, society and commerce. A vigorous program of presentations, workshops and symposia has created a forum for research and debate into the future of design, which is now translating into practical verification. One of the Network’s latest investigations is into the nature and importance of inclusive (or universal) Design, which deals with objects that are suitable for use by all sections of the community; young or old, ‘fully abled’ or disabled to some degree. Members of the Tokyo Design Network include Canon Inc., NEC Corp., and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and included Sony Corporation until 1998.

The Tokyo Design Network website can be found at: http://www.meshnet.or.jp/tdn/. Click on "English", then on "What’s New", then on "97 Project" to see the work of the four designers featured in the exhibit noted under the United Kingdom listing.

Ed. Note: this website includes extremely well illustrated examples of universal design and also includes reflections by the four featured designers. Both the detailed illustrations and the comments by the designers help us understand their intent as well as the function of each of the products. As is often said, good universal design is invisible and the remarks by the designers are essential to our comprehension. There are many other thoughtful, very engaging sections to this website.

• A new magazine, Universal Design, is published by the Universal Design Consortium, at G x K Co., Ltd. The 3^rd issue will be published in April 1999 and features several articles on universal design in the United States. Previous issues of this beautifully illustrated magazine include the last lecture given by Ron Mace, at the first Designing for the 21^st Century conference in June 1998 and articles on world-wide innovative hospital and health care design. Many articles are translated into English. For information on subscription, contact Dai Sogawa at sogawa@blue.ocn.ne.jp

Back to Contents

From Sweden:

• The Institute on Independent Living reports that TIME magazine recognizes Adolf Ratzka, Director of the Institute.

  In its special Winter 98/99 edition, entitled "Visions of Europe", TIME magazine presents the political, social and economic experiments that will shape Europe in the 21st century. Among the key players working for social change in Europe, TIME distinguishes disabled activist Adolf D. Ratzka, Ph.D., one of the leaders in the European disability rights and Independent Living movement.

  "In the article, TIME recognizes disability as a profoundly political issue in contrast to the still prevailing view of disabled people as objects of care, pity and humanitarian concerns. I am convinced that now, at the turn of the millenium, disabled people are at the threshold of a world-wide recognition of their human and civil rights", comments Adolf Ratzka. You can read the interview with Dr. Ratzka on the Institute for Independent Living website at: http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/Time.htm

  The article reviews his work, and the systemic changes that he has initiated. Ratzka notes that there are still obstacles to overcome. "I cannot go by ordinary bus," he says. "Is that because I had polio 37 years ago, or because the transport authority doesn't buy buses that will work for everybody?"

  Ratzka is not only an activist, he is a prolific writer. The website, http://www.independentliving.org,  has a huge collection of his writing and many other materials related to human rights, accessibility and some on universal design. With his permission, we reprint the following article.

  MICRO VS. MACRO PLANNING by Adolf D. Ratzka, Ph.D.

  Historically, people with disabilities have been isolated and shut off from society in the form of micro solutions, i.e. solutions specifically and exclusively geared to this group. Examples are special kindergartens, special schools, sheltered workshops, institutions and special housing, special and therefore segregated transportation systems.

  Our present cities are full of micro solutions. Planners and politicians in many countries build segregated housing facilities for people with disabilities and will proudly show thes ghettoes to foreign visitors. City planners will construct one accessible housing complex or shopping street and use this as an alibi for leaving the rest of the city inaccessible.

  Micro solutions are characterized by the generous use of the international symbol of access: one accessible phone booth in a row of inaccessible ones, one accessible public toilet within several city blocks. The international symbol of access shows me that only here am I welcome. Black people in South Africa must have had similar feelings when they saw park benches with signs "For Blacks".

  In a micro world people with disabilities are made dependent on the limited choices that architects and planners consider sufficient for them. In a micro society disabled people will be reminded at literally every step of the limits that somebody else has imposed on them. Micro solutions represent accessible islands in an otherwise inaccessible ocean. Outside these islands people with disabilities appear helpless and are made to feel helpless.

  In Stockholm for example, over 95 per cent of the housing stock is inaccessible to people who cannot climb one or more steps. And Stockholm is probably one of the better cities. Look around and you will see how the physical environment segregates and excludes citizens with disabilities from active participation in all aspects of life. Apartheid is rampant - not only in South Africa but in most countries on this globe.

  The effects of architectural barriers are twofold. They affect the daily lives of most of us at one point or another, and they serve as a mechanism by which some of us are selected for an existence in institutions or other segregated facilities. We know that most individuals whom a handicapping environment forces into institutions would prefer to live in the community, if given a real choice. Institutions, because of their need for well-functioning routines, limit the inmates' choices and responsibilities over their own lives. The result is known as hospitalism - decreasing competence in practical tasks and social skills, low self-confidence and stunted personal growth regardless of age.

  The prospect of life in segregated facilities is a powerful incentive for many old and disabled persons to hold out in inaccessible environments at the price of physical overexertion, risk of accidents and premature loss of functional abilities. The physical and mental energy spent on coping with our inaccessible cities, the imposed restrictions in life style, occupational and social opportunities are costs borne not only by disabled people, their families and friends but by all citizens.

  Inaccessible environments not only discriminate against us in very concrete ways, they also affect us in more subtle ways. Thus, an image of environmental incompetence can easily affect other aspects of one's personality with the result that a disability limited to one aspect of a person is associated with global incompetence in all areas.

  An example: Assume that you as the employer are interviewing a job applicant for a staff position. Your office can be reached via a flight of steps only. The job applicant is a wheelchair user and has to be carried upstairs. In this situation, is it not likely that the applicant's helplessness in climbing stairs might also affect your assessment of his or her mental abilities? And is it not possible that a person who all his life is made dependent on other people at every step will begin to see himself dependent on other people also in other respects? For the people around us and even for ourselves it is not always clear that the problem is not within us, is not because we are incompetent and passive, but because architects, planners and politicians deny us our equal rights.

  In a macro world, on the other hand, that is, a society designed for all citizens, building and planning will enable disabled people to participate in every aspect of society. Preconceived stereotype notions about people with disabilities will diminish as the general population gets to know us on an individual level, as unique individuals. In a macro society there will be no need for the international symbol of access because people with disabilities will be considered as equal citizens and everything will be accessible to them.

Back to Contents

From the United Kingdom:

• Inclusive Design: Tokyo Design Network Showcases at London Design Museum

  Four exciting new prototypes created by the Tokyo Design Network went on display at the London Design Museum on Monday 22^nd March 1999 (the Tokyo Design Network is described more fully in the Japan section).

  On display for the first time in the United Kingdom, the four prototypes are:

1. Apollon - designed by Makoto Nemoto, NEC Corporation:
   a floor lamp that can be adjusted to mimic the shifting patterns of daylight.
2. Click Clink - designed by Ken Yano, Sony Corporation:
   a game that can be played by both people who are sighted as well as those who are blind.
3. Touchclock / Touchwatch - designed by Ayako Ikeda, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: a clock and watch that can be read by touch.
4. Good Clips - designed by Hiroyuki Ichiyoshi, Canon Inc.: multi-use clips that can be used with only one hand and with minimum effort.

The designs featured in the exhibit can be seen on the website of the Tokyo Design Network at: http://www.meshnet.or.jp/tdn/.

The London Design Museum is an important venue for showcasing creations, and is the world’s only museum to exhibit product and graphic design to the general public. The Inclusive Design exhibits, which will be displayed in the Museum’s Review Gallery, represent the latest of many collaborations between the Network and the Museum. Previous activities have included the Metropolis exhibition in October 1991, the Showcase exhibition in November 1994 and, in May 1995, a display of the results of the Thinktech Project.

Back to Contents

From the United States:

• Arise, a Center for Independent Living in Syracuse, New York announces the opening of The Universal Design Technology Center. The press release notes, "the Center will be a unique resource for everyone to experience universal design applications and technology in the home and workplace settings…the Center will be a showcase of universal design principles in the built environment." It includes a kitchen with universal and accessible features for people to try on and feel; a bathroom; an office setting where people can explore options in computer technology. The Center was developed in response to numerous requests from "people who did not reflect the traditional labels of disability", reported Janice Hammerle, the Manager of Technology at Arise. Around the same time, Hammerle became aware of universal design and the "ultimate simplicity of designing products and environments so that everyone can use them to the greatest extent possible". In a recent interview she noted that they are also developing a website and she welcomes inquiries for further information via e-mail at: hammerle@arise.org.

• Beautiful Universal Design is a new book that follows in the successful footsteps of the award-winning book, Beautiful Barrier-Free. Universal design experts Cynthia A. Leibrock and James Evan Terry present a fresh generation of flexible design solutions in Beautiful Universal Design. Combining coverage of full design installations for a wide variety of settings with an in-depth examination of individual elements that range from exterior landscaping to interior finishes, furnishings, signage, and more, this superb visual guide is an inspiring idea resource to creatively integrate people of all ages and abilities.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
605 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10158
ISBN 0-471-29306-7

To order, call 1-800-CALL-WILEY or visit their website: http://www.wiley.com.

• The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) has a rapidly growing Universal Design Section, one of their several Professional Interest Sections. More than 500 of 2800 IDSA members have signed up to indicate their interest in universal design. Jim Mueller of J.L. Mueller, Inc. is the leader of the section. You can view the section website by going to the IDSA site at: http://www.idsa.org/, click on "What’s New", then scroll down and click on Professional Interest Section Pages and Links, then scroll down and click on the Universal Design Section. The website includes some UD history, related activities of IDSA members, a calendar, excerpts from case studies and links to resources.

  Other related IDSA events include "What’s Age Got to Do with It?" The Design Challenge for Everyday Living, the IDSA Western District conference that will be held in Pasa Robles, California on April 16-17. For more information, contact Patricia Moore, Western District President at: pattie@guynesdesign.com.

• The Pasadena Home Modification Action Coalition reports the overwhelming response and success of their exhibit Beyond Time, Beyond Space, A Home for All Ages. More than 3000 people came to the exhibit in the two months that it was open in a well traveled shopping mall in Old Pasadena, California. The exhibit is closing on April 3 but will be re-open in about 2 months in another indoor shopping area in Santa Clarita, California.

  Julie Overton, Project Manager for the Home Modification Action Project that sponsored the exhibit with the Pasadena group described some of the responses to the exhibit. "The consumer response blew us away". People often wandered into the exhibit without realizing what it was about but soon made immediate connections to their own lives. "The exhibit helped people think differently about their homes, and how they could work better for them". One man following his young daughter who was attracted inside by the video was suddenly aware that the exhibit could help him address the problems he faced in adapting his father-in-law’s home. "He had a severe stroke and we didn’t know what we could do to make his home more usable".

  Although the focus of the exhibit was to help people become more aware of how home modifications could assist in aging in place, Overton noted that universal design was integral to the "please touch" displays. In particular, the universal Real Life Kitchen designed by Mary Jo Peterson for GE Appliances was one of the most popular features. Another excellent example of universal design that had utility for everyone was the remote electric ‘door unlocker/locker’.

  Overton reported that both she and her colleague Jon Pynoos, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Southern California and Director of the Home Modification Action Project felt that, "It was one of the best things we’ve ever done; over the years the Andrus Center has done so much work on home modifications - we’ve done a lot of research, written many papers - this experience had the most immediate impact, provided tremendous insight and assistance to many, many people".

  She described some of the planning decisions that made Beyond Time, Beyond Space, A Home for All Ages so successful: "Location, location, location - placing the exhibit in a heavily traveled shopping area assured high volume of traffic; the advance invitation to many professional organizations to hold their meetings in the exhibit area brought at least two groups a week to the site. These included the Los Angeles County AIA chapter, contractor groups, the local chapter of occupational therapists, the local Disability Access Committee and the Senior Advocacy Council. The press outreach brought a good response; numerous newspapers sent reporters and the subsequent articles attracted more visitors".

  The Home Modification Action Project is headquartered at the University of Southern California's Andrus Gerontology Center and is funded, in part, by the Archstone Foundation. For announcements of the next opening of the exhibit and a description of the exhibit content, ( and extraordinary resources on home modification) see the project website at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/gero/hmap/.

• Project Access For ALL - Public Transportation

  United Cerebral Palsy's (UCP) Project Access for All 1998 poll results indicate that the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability legislation, has made access to transportation is easier for all public transit users, not just individuals with disabilities.

  According to the results of UCP's Project Access for All, two out of every three commuters using public transportation use and benefit from new access features that are designed with people with disabilities in mind (Project Access for All is a program grant awarded United Cerebral Palsy through Project ACTION, under a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Transportation).

  The findings are the result of the Project Access for All survey of 1140 public transportation users at four intermodal transportation sites around Washington, DC to determine the post ADA status of universal design and use of new access features in public transportation. The Project Access for All Survey was developed by the national office of United Cerebral Palsy based in Washington, DC and conducted by UCP staff and volunteers in October, 1997.

  "The results of this poll indicate that most travelers and commuters, not just people with disabilities, are benefiting from new access options in public transportation and elsewhere in 'Mainstreet USA' because of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act ," said Jeanette Harvey, Executive Director of the national organization.

  According to Harvey, who uses a wheelchair, access to public accommodations as well as transportation access has improved and benefits many customers, with and without disabilities. "The survey findings give us an idea of who is using of ramps and curb cuts, elevators, wider fare gates, color coding, flashing lights and more. These access features benefit a wide market of customers: parents pushing baby carriages, travelers with luggage on wheels, bicyclists, and delivery folks, to name a few. America's businesses are recognizing the benefits of investing in universal design and accessibility. Good access means good business."

  The goal of Project Access for All was to identify and promote universal design and accessibility in intermodal public transportation and determine what types of access exist; who knows about and uses universal access; and where and how universal access and accommodations are being used, not just by citizens with disabilities, but by all transit customers.

  Half of the survey participants identified themselves as female and half were male; 46% were 21 to 39 years of age and 47% were 40 to 60 years old; only 4% were 61 plus and 3% were 10 to 20 years old. Some 69% say they had no disability, while 7% identified themselves

  as persons with a disability; 6% had a family member with a disability, and 8% said they have a friend or know someone with a disability.

  You can order the 60 page report, Project Access For All, from the UCPA by sending a US check or international money order for $8.00 to:

  Project Access for All
  United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc.
  1660 L Street NW, Suite 700
  Washington, DC 20036

  If you have questions, you can e-mail Megan Coughlin at mcoughlin@ucpa.org
  or by fax: 202 776 0410.

• Shirley Confino, an interior designer from Virginia, reports on how education that she has provided in universal design was helpful in her recent survey work related to the Americans with Disabilities Act. She noted, " Just finished an accessibility survey of a hotel underlitigation…the attorney on the case called me to congratulate me on the excellent’ work, and was thrilled that the hotel has already started complying with the law. He said that up until last month they were completely against any changes, or compliance. I explained that educating the consumer as well as the general population on universal design, rather than the law, always give common sense reasons for compliance. It rarely fails. It's good business".

• Unlimited By Design, New York City

  There is an excellent website that you can visit, created for the Unlimited By Design exhibit on universal design at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. The exhibit was open from November 17, 1998 through March 21, 1999. Although the exhibit is now closed, the website offers an introduction to universal design and includes an exploration of the home office and several objects featured in the exhibit.

  You can find the exhibit website at http://www.si.edu/ndm/. This is the home page of the National Design Museum. In the header, click on "Exhibitions"; at exhibitions, click on "Past Exhibits", and you’ll find the link to Unlimited by Design.

Back to Contents

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The CALL for Proposals, Designing for the 21^st Century II is online at http://www.adaptenv.org/21century/. This includes the RFP for Pre-Conference Intensive Sessions. Proposals must be received by September 1, 1999.

The CALL extends the following invitation:

"We invite you to present your work and demonstrate its contribution to making the world fit for all people. Please join us in this vital international dialogue. Our participants are leaders in universal design development, education and advocacy around the world, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience. They need and expect cutting edge information and practical solutions for Designing for the 21st Century.

The 2000 conference will be a leap to the next developmental stage of universal design education and practice. We will showcase state of the art universal design solutions addressing the needs of people across the life span and worldwide innovations in environments, products and information technology.

We will offer forums that consider universal design in the larger context of social justice, sustainable development and successful business practice. We welcome your responses on emerging issues such as universal design in developing nations; hidden disabilities including cognitive impairment and chemical sensitivity; affordability; workplace technology.

Please submit proposals that illustrate real world experiences. Share your successes - even tell us what you’ve learned from what didn’t work - with colleagues from around the globe. We are especially interested in proposals that demonstrate the involvement of diverse users"

Back to Contents

STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION:

Michael Everett, Dean, Division of Architecture and Design, Rhode Island School of Design is the Chair of the Student Design Competition, Designing for the 21^st Century II .

Submissions must be received by February 1, 2000. It is expected that the responses to the design competition will be developed by teams of students during the Fall, 1999 semester. The preliminary announcement will be online at http://www.adaptenv.org/21century/ in early April. An excerpt from the Design Problem follows:

Design Problem:

Contemporary life places us in more and more complex situations where needed information, directions and destinations are ambiguous. At the same time, we are increasingly concerned about communication and access for diverse users. There are many chaotically experienced problems associated with physically and cognitively finding one’s way and obtaining information in a free, understandable and accessible manner.

Often one’s perception is overwhelmed, both by inherently confusing environments as well as with disparate, seemingly random and competing directional and informational elements and systems. Can we facilitate easier understanding of complex situations and directions? In short, this competition is concerned both with the perceivable design of spaces and with the design of improved means of giving direction, obtaining information, and enlarging one’s sense of a place and its options.

This competition asks participants to identify and respond to a series of conditions confronted on a traverse of a particular city or metropolitan area as one "navigates" several diverse conditions. A traverse means that one considers typical and special conditions located along a line that travels through a series of downtown, neighborhood, and suburban locations as well as intersects with typical civic and transportation systems. Every day problems of coping with "mapping" or "wayfinding" are experienced while moving from place to place or within places, be they outdoor parks and plazas or indoor places like buildings.

Back to Contents

GLOBAL DESIGN EDUCATOR'S NETWORK E-MAIL LIST

The Global Universal Design Educator’s Network has been established and people are beginning to introduce themselves to each other, exchange ideas. At this time, this is a group e-mail and NOT a true automatic Listserv. This is temporary - we anticipate that the automated List will be in place in the near future. At this time, if you would like to be included on the list, send an e-mail to: elaine@ostroff.org.

Back to Contents

NEWS FROM YOUR SCHOOL/ORGANIZATION/COMPANY IS WELCOME!

Adding your information, questions to the Online News: Send e-mail to elaine@ostroff.org by the 20th of each month for the next month's mailing. Articles should be limited to 600 words. If the issue is too full to include, and the timeliness of the article allows it, we may hold the item until the following month.

Back to Contents

Acknowledgments: The Global Universal Design Educator’s Network and the Global Universal Design Educators Online News is produced with support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, of the US Department of Education.

Elaine Ostroff, Founding Director, Adaptive Environments Center, Editor.