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

Volume 1, Number 11, NOVEMBER 1999

Contents

• Editor's Note
• News from the Global Network
• Australia
• Japan
• Korea 
• United Kingdom
• United Nations
• United States
• Designing for the 21^st Century Conference
• Student Design Competition applications STILL available
• Global Universal Design Educator's Network e-mail list
• Calendar
• Adding your information, questions to the Online News

EDITOR'S NOTE

In this issue we note increasing activity in universal design education in Australia and Korea as well as news of a new partnership between Maytag Corporation and Rhode Island School of Design,Universal Kitchen, in the USA. We introduce a unique Center for Living Design in Japan, identify an important typeface design for television terminals in the UK, and link to an online accessible design manual on the United Nations website. We provide an update on several US programs including Access to Design Professions, four new centers in universal design and rehabilitation recently funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and a training opportunity in home modifications. We preview the pre-conference intensive courses for the Designing for the 21st Century II Conference.  

Information from the Monthly Online News may be freely copied and quoted as long as the individual author and this source is cited. Previous issues as well as this issue of the Online News are available online atthe Adaptive Environments website at http://www.adaptenv.org in the Universal Design section.

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NEWS FROM THE GLOBAL NETWORK

AUSTRALIA

Jaye Johnson reports, "We have just completed our first Universal Design course in the School of Architecture and Fine Arts, University of Western Australia, and are in the process of grading folios. It was a great success and with 8 hours contact time a week for a semester, there was considerable contact time between students and our consultants who were people with disabilities. Annette Pedersen describes the objectives of the course in the proposal that was accepted for presentation at the Designing for the 21st Century II conference, June 2000. They are:

1. To explore the philosophy and theory of architecture and landscape design pedagogy in order to extend its existing perimeters to fully address notions of inclusivity;
2. To investigate and extend the theory and concept of universal design, itself fully inclusive, for the local and Australian context.

The course was initiated by the University of Western Australia's Disability Officer and is based on a design studio trialing the principles of inclusivity and universal design for the Australian environment. Johnson noted, "Selected students work will be put on the University Website. I will let the Network know when it will be available. Also, a post grad unit is being put together by the other school of architecture in this city but I have not seen that yet - so, things are happening in Western Australia."  

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JAPAN

Tokyo Gas Promotes Universal Design

A universal design exhibit is featured in the Living Design Center Ozone. Ozone is a superb learning environment for design on six floors of a contemporary tower building in the Shinjuku district of metropolitan Tokyo. It was established by Tokyo Gas in 1994, to contribute to the creation of living design and comfortable living space. Their brochure defines Ozone as, "A starting point for infinite number of opportunities; ground zero for finding your way of living."

Ozone functions as a space for communication between professionals, companies and city dwellers and consists of an Information Bank in housing design, showrooms, shops, events, and seminars. There are innumerable exhibits; well designed and beautifully crafted products for sale; comprehensive and well organized, easy to use references and samples of construction products. This intensively used design center is a perfect location for the current exhibit and seminar on universal design.

Atsuko Kamoshida, Chairwoman of the Kyoyohin Foundation and Satoshi Kose of the Ministry of Construction were among the Japanese experts who identified products for the exhibit. More examples of universal design illustrated the Principles of Universal Design in a full color publication produced for distribution at the exhibit.

Nearly 500 people attended the October 5, 1999 symposia on universal design that was moderated by Dr. Kose. The symposia included US presenters James Mueller, J.L Mueller, Inc., Edward Steinfeld, IDEA Center; and James A. Wise, CEO * Eco Integrations, Inc.

Chamber of Commerce sponsors walking tour

Mueller was featured in several universal design presentations and interviews during his recent trip to Japan. He reports on another event in Tokyo, " I participated in a walking tour of the Shinjuku area, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The goal was to critique the accessibility of the area and its attractions. I was very pleased to see that the organizers had invited seniors and people with disabilities to participate. The weather was perfect, and they had a great turnout."

NEC Tokyo features Universal Design on Website

The NEC Global Website highlights universal design through a feature story, 'A World Without Barriers - how small design features make a big difference in our lives'. The story explains how U.S. nonprofit organizations such as Adaptive Environments and the WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, both funded by the NEC Foundation of America, are helping to spread the message of universal design. The web text notes, "In our first sidebar, 'Design For All,' we look back at the origins of universal design and some of the challenges posed by the future. In our second sidebar, 'No One Is Left Behind,' we examine the guidelines and the mission of the NEC Foundation of America." The well illustrated story includes audio sound and is at: www.nec-global.com.

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KOREA

European Concept for Accessibility on the Web

Graduate students in Interior Design, primarily from Yonsei University in Seoul, are involved with a wide range of universal design research projects. They are all students of Professor Yeun Sook Lee who directs their research. They submitted numerous, engaging proposals, several of which were accepted for the Poster and Project sessions at the Designing for the 21st Century II conference. The topics include: Lifestyle Change Indicating the Need for Universal Design Features of a Kitchen; Development of an Alternative Kitchen to Satisfy Diverse and Sensitive needs of Consumers; Classification and Hierarchy of Living Environments; and Actual Conditions in Social Sports Facilities. For more information contact: Yeun Sook Lee at jaeyeunlee@yahoo.com

UNITED KINGDOM

New Typeface Improves Readability of Screen Displays

A typeface, Tiresias Screenfont, that makes it easier to read television screens is now widely used in the United Kingdom. Originally designed by a team led by Dr. John Gill for subtitling on UK digital television and specifically designed for screen display, it has been adopted by the UK Digital Television Group as the resident font for interactive television. In a recent correspondence, Dr. Gill notes, " We are currently in the process of extending Tiresias Screenfont from 190 to 312 characters to allow for more languages. We are also developing Tiresias PCfont for use on computer screens, Signfont for use on fixed signage, and PrintFont for use for printed instructions."

Their website at provides the following introduction as well as links to full design reports and samples of the typeface. "Television screens are now being used in a wide range of locations for displaying information. On public transport, at airports, railways or ferry terminals information is often displayed on TV monitors. Building societies and banks use screens to display information on cash dispensers. Many governments are now planning screen-based public information systems in libraries and government offices.

Reading information from screens in one form or another will become a daily activity for most people. As digital television becomes available, our televisions at home will develop into interactive terminals. We will then be able to access the Internet, download information linked to television and radio programmes, plan a journey and carry out banking from our own homes.

Reading a screen can be difficult for anyone under some circumstances such as bright sunlight. However, the problems are more severe for elderly and visually impaired people. The choice of typeface can make all the difference to screen legibility. Visual impairment is much more common than many people think. It is estimated that the majority of the population have problems reading some displays at travel terminals.

Tiresias Screenfont
Tiresias Screenfont has been designed to have characters that are easy to distinguish from each other. The design was carried out, with specific reference to persons with visual impairments, on the philosophy that good design for visually impaired persons is good design for everybody. Throughout the design process, the key factors that affect legibility were studied. These included:

• Character shapes.
• Relative weight or thickness of the character shapes.
• Inter-character spacing.
Aspect ratios that affect the maximum size at which the type could be used.

Tiresias Screenfont has been designed with a medium weight. Special consideration has been given to character shapes that could be difficult to distinguish. For people with low vision some numerals such as 6, 8, and 9 can be confused. Tiresias Screenfont has open shapes, designed to make each character as clear as possible.

Characters such as the lower case 'l' have been designed to ensure they are different from the numeral '1' or a lower case 'i'. The tail on the 'l' also helps stop two 'l's merging. These factors may not seem important to persons with good vision but to a person with low vision they can make all the difference.

Tiresias Screenfont has been tested with the public, including groups of visually and hearing impaired persons. There has been such general approval that the design team is confident that this new typeface will bring a considerable improvement in the legibility of text on screens.

Tiresias Screenfont was developed by:

• Dr. John Gill (Chief Scientist, Royal National Institute for the Blind)
• Dr. Janet Silver (former Principal Optometrist Moorfields Eye Hospital)
• Christopher Sharville (Creative Director, Laker Sharville Design Associates)

The development of Tiresias Screenfont was funded by the Royal National Institute for the Blind. The Tiresias Consortium is an association of professionals working in disability. Concerned in this project were: Janet Silver (optometrist), John Gill (engineer), James Slater (engineer), Christopher Sharville (graphic designer), Mike Martin (engineer)." To contact the Tiresias Consortium: Janet Silver Email: jan.mar@virgin.net

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UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations Persons with Disabilities Office announces that the Beirut Accessibility Manual is now on line at the UN's Persons with Disabilities home page as a priority theme document, at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/designm/. The Manual has been re-created into an accessible online version through the generous cooperation of the Solidere organization in Beirut and the technical support of the Vision Support Office in Vancouver, Canada.

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UNITED STATES

Access to Design Professions Project Task Force Initiates Action Planning

A workshop for mentors and design students with disabilities and far reaching individual commitments from the Task Force members were some of the first outcomes of the successful Access to Design Professions Task Force meeting held in Washington, DC on August 22-23, 1999. Access to Design Professions, a program of the Adaptive Environments Center, is a Leadership Initiative Project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The 35 member Task Force, which represents key professional design organizations, design firms, design schools, federal agencies and disability organizations, identified major challenges such as: the lack of role models in the design professions and "invisibility" of designers with disabilities; the barriers in attitude, curriculum and facilities; and the lack of outreach, recruitment and retention strategies. Facilitated by Daniel Iacofano of MIG, the group identified strategic steps for the Action Plan that will bring and sustain more people with disabilities into the design professions. The working Action Plan will be promoted beginning in January 2000.

Daniel Hunter, Project Researcher, reported findings from his in-depth interviews with 33 designers with disabilities from all over the world. "Telling Our Stories: Designers with Disabilities Speak About Professional Life", provided the basis for action planning at the Task Force meeting. He noted the strong desire of all the designers to be part of an international network of designers with disabilities. Elaine Ostroff, Project Director, reported on the inadequacies of existing systems throughout three major career development phases - elementary and secondary school; college; and work as well as the crucial transitions between phases. She sited several career development models that are instructive - the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) internship and resource directory; the DO-IT program for high school students and the technical training provided at Center for High Tech Training, Valencia Community College.

Organizations and firms represented on the Task Force include: AAAS; AHEAD; American Institute of Architects; Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture; Boston Architectural Center; Center for Accessible Society; Center for Universal Design; Disability Funders Network; DO-IT; Eastern Michigan University; HEATH Resource Center; Gensler; Hillier Group; IDEA Center, SUNY Buffalo; Industrial Design Society of America; Landscape Architecture Foundation; MIG; New Jersey Institute of Technology; the Parent Network; President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities; Rehabilitation Services Administration; San Francisco State University; Santa Fe Community College; Society for Disability Studies; University of Minnesota; University of Oregon, Eugene; VSA arts.

Home Modification Skills, Approaches and Team Work

This is a Pre-conference course in conjunction with Promoting Independence and Quality of Life for Older Persons, An International Conference on Aging, that will be held December 2-4, 1999 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA. The conference is sponsored by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Aging, American Society on Aging, and RESNA. For general conference information, call 800-537-9728 or 425-974-9600. The Pre-conference program is all day, Thursday December 2, 1999.

Program Description
This workshop responds to the growing need for information on environmental interventions in the homes of elders and individuals with disabilities. Clinical practitioners in the health care system, the aging network, and the housing industry are increasingly called on to help make homes safer and more supportive, and to allow occupants more independence. Participants will learn the basics of universal design, low cost home modifications, products, and home building plans. The workshop will provide valuable skill development in the areas of planning, products, house construction, cost estimating, and funding sources. Expert presenters from around the country will show how to use existing knowledge as the foundation from which to extend and broaden skills in home environmental change. The workshop will help practitioners work with families, contractors, designers, and others to make homes usable and safe for seniors and persons with disabilities.

Presenters
Richard Duncan, Center for Universal Design, School of Design, NC State, Raleigh, NC; Susan Duncan, ADAptations Inc., Bellevue, WA; Stephen Hague, Access Remodeling, Inc., Potomac, MD; Leon Harper, AARP, Washington, DC; Kathleen Moreo, Professional Resources In Management Education, Miramar, FL; Jon Sanford, Rehab R&D Center, Decatur, GA; Diane Sprague, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, St. Paul, MN; Louis Tenenbaum, Access Remodeling, Inc., Potomac, MD.

For more information contact: Shari Wilson, Conference Coordinator, at swilson@buffalo.edu.

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Funds 3 New Rehabilitation Research Centers (RERCs) in Universal Design, and a Center for International Exchange

Information Technology Access
The Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in partnership with Gallaudet University will focus on telecommunications access. Telecommunication systems and products include but are not limited to: wireless communications technologies, networks, multimedia conferencing systems and software supporting these technologies, products and systems. Gregg Vanderheiden, Director of the Trace Center states, "Telecommunication is on the verge of a complete transformation that can either bring unprecedented new access or new barriers." The focus of the Telecommunications Access RERC is to identify telecommunications access barriers in current and future technologies, work with others in the field to identify solution strategies, test them, implement any necessary standards and assist industry in transferring these ideas into their commercial products. For more information: Kate Vanderheiden vanderk@trace.wisc.edu and http://trace.wisc.edu.

Universal Design and the Built Environment
The Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and the Center for Universal Design at the State University of North Carolina will work toward mutual goals in the universal design of the built environment. This includes public and private buildings, houses, landscapes, and tools and objects of daily use.

Ed Steinfeld, Director of the IDEA Center states, "Our main goal will be to promote the adoption of universal design…and to assist in building the universal design community." The RERC at SUNY Buffalo will develop a database of functional anthropometric measurements for wheelchair users that will serve as a prototype foe expanded databases on disability. Another research project will evaluate buildings and products designed for universal access to demonstrate their impact on improving usability for everyone. For more information: Ed Steinfeld arced@arch.buffalo.edu or http://www.arch.buffalo.edu/~idea/.

Larry Trachtman, Director of the Center for Universal Design states, "Our purpose is to improve accessibility and usability of the built environment and to advance the field of universal design…". The RERC at NC State will increase knowledge of the complex and dynamic relationship between the individual and the environment, including what design features optimize the usability and accessibility of the built environment. Their goals also include the increase of the universal design approach in post-secondary design curricula. For more information: Larry Trachtman trachtman@ncsu.edu or http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/.

Linking Rehabilitation Researchers World-Wide
The Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE) has been established at the University at Buffalo. Its mission is to facilitate the sharing of information and expertise in rehabilitation research between the U.S. and other countries and includes: developing an international rehabilitation research database that will be operational by May 2000; assisting rehabilitation research conference organizers, funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS), to establish an international component within domestic conferences by involving eminent colleagues from other countries through Travel Grants. CIRRIE will also support the use of teleconferencing for the participation of U.S. researchers in conferences in other countries, and vice versa and will disseminate information to rehabilitation service providers on cultural issues to meet the needs of foreign-born persons in the United States, with a focus on recent immigrants. For further information about CIRRIE programs, please contact: Kathleen Pipitone, pipitone@acsu.buffalo.edu or http://wings.buffalo.edu/cirrie.

Rhode Island School of Design Universal Kitchen in Maytag Agreement

Maytag Corporation has signed a technology transfer agreement with Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). The press release notes that under the agreement, Maytag has obtained exclusive worldwide rights to the Universal Kitchen(TM), an integrated kitchen design concept created by a team at RISD. Further, Maytag will collaborate with the Providence, RI, design college to learn more about the industrial design and consumer research used to develop the RISD prototype kitchen design.

The Universal Kitchen, which has toured museums and industry shows for more than two years, features interchangeable appliance components that can be customized to fit individual needs. The kitchen design concept is a systems approach to reducing time and effort in meal preparation and eliminating wasted space.

Greg Jordan, Maytag's chief technology officer, said, "Our alliance with RISD is one more building block in our innovation network and our commitment to delivering continuous discovery, invention, and rapid deployment of innovation. We believe RISD can increase our capabilities in industrial design and providing total system-oriented solutions to meet consumer and commercial customer needs.

Maytag Corporation is a leading producer of home and commercial appliances sold to customers throughout North America and in international markets. Rhode Island School of Design is an internationally renowned school of art and design with a long-standing reputation in the fields of architecture, design, the fine arts, and industry-sponsored research.

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DESIGNING FOR THE 21^st CENTURY II
An International Conference on Universal Design

Preview of Pre-conference Courses
Pre-conference intensive sessions are scheduled on Wednesday June 14, 2000 from 8:30am am to 5:30pm, and on Thursday June 15, 2000 8:30 to 12:30pm. They include both day long and half day courses and all courses are eligible for AIA Continuing Education System and Interior Design Continuing Education Credits. Following is a partial listing of courses and the lead faculty for each. Additional courses, full descriptions, names and credentials of all faculty and fee information will be in the announcement brochure and online in January 2000.

• The Arts in Universal Environments - Ann Ellen Lesser
• How Universal is It? - James Mueller
• Mini Medical School for Designers - Daniel Fechtner
• How Universal Design Can Support Healthy Child Development - Robin Moore
• Design of Cross Disability, Accessible Mass Market Electronic Products - Gregg Vanderheiden
• Home Modifications for Remodelors and Designers - Richard Duncan
• Access to All in the Ocean State: Collaboration in Design - Bob Cooper
• Residential Design Re-Examined - Louise Jones
• Universal Design Details for Health - Cynthia Leibrock
• How to Make Information on the Web Accessible - Judy Brewer
• Museum Education: Accessible Modes of Presentation in Exhibits - Barbara Ciccone

This is the theme of the Student Design Competition held in conjunction with the Designing for the 21st Century conference. Application forms are still available online at http://www.adaptenv.org/21century/ or e-mail Mike at mdilorenzo@adaptenv.org. Submission deadline is February 1, 2000.

Student teams learn by April 1, 2000 if their projects will be included among finalists and exhibited at the Designing for the 21st Century, An International Conference on Universal Design. The exhibit of finalists, final jury process and awards will be at the conference, June 14-18, 2000.

Currently enrolled students from any college or university worldwide are welcome. The application requires a team submission, with a minimum of two design disciplines. In addition, the participation of other related disciplines is recommended. If you are a design advocate, we encourage your promotion of this design opportunity; bring it to the attention of faculty in design schools. The application suggests the involvement of users in the early stages as well as in review of the proposed solutions.

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GLOBAL UNIVERSAL DESIGN EDUCATOR'S E-MAIL LIST

This is distinct from the newsletter that you are now receiving. This is an automated electronic list. We invite you to subscribe if you want additional, more frequent dialogue with other educators, designers, students and advocates. To subscribe, send a message to: guden-l@adaptenv.org

Leave the subject blank. In the body of the message, write 'subscribe. This must be from the computer that you use for your e-mail.

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CALENDAR

November 29 to December 3, 1999
Beirut
Workshop and Seminar on Environmental Accessibility:
issues in planning and design of accessible urban development contact: Antoine Haddad, ahaddad@escwa.org.lb

December 2, 1999
Arlington, VA , Hyatt Regency Crystal City
Home Modification Skills, Approaches and Team Work
Contact: Shari Wilson, Conference Coordinator, swilson@buffalo.edu.

December 16-19, 1999
Reading, England
CIB Research groups:
W84: Building Non-handicapping Environments
TG19: Designing for the Ageing Society
Contact: k.t.bright@reading.ac.uk or skose@kenken.go.jp

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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.

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

374 Congress Street, Suite 301
Boston, MA 02210
Tel 617 695 1225 x30
Fax 617 482 8099

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