A New Accessible Entrance at Regional Mall
Common perception is that accessible design is ugly and often builders and architects think accessible elements distract from good architecture. Countless times I hear concern that accessibility will result in utilitarian design that is only appropriate for hospitals and housing for the elderly. But we at Accessibility Services know, with thoughtful and careful planning, accessible design can be beautiful. Read more
Equipment & Furniture Proposed Rule
During the planning of a building, architects and designers provide placement of equipment and furniture in the various rooms and spaces. Thus, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Equipment and Furniture requesting input from individuals with disabilities, industrial representative, design professionals, and others who have an interest in the final requirements. Therefore, the Proposed Rule should be reviewed and comments provided to ensure that the final rule provides enough details to assist in the design process. Comments are due to the Access Board by January 24, 2011. Read more
Update: Enhanced Accessibility Requirements for ATM’s
Accessibility Services staff members have received questions from stakeholders seeking guidance on the accessibility requirements for Automatic Teller Machines (ATM’s) that are found in the 2010 ADA Design Standards recently released by the US Department of Justice.
We have assembled the three (3) most commonly asked questions about ATM accessibility below along with our responses. Read more
US Department of Justice Issues Revised ADA Title II & III Regulations
Accessibility Services Staff Members have been providing training programs on the Revised ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines for several years, and everyone always asks – “When will DOJ adopt these new guidelines as an enforceable standard?” Well – the wait is over! DOJ has issued final regulations revising Titles II and III, including the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Read more
Accessible Parking Requirements
No matter where in the country Accessibility Services staff members provide training programs on state and federal accessibility requirements, there are inevitably people in the audience that have a lot of questions about accessible parking. While parking space requirements may seem pretty “clear-cut”, there remains a lot of confusion about compliant design of these spaces with local, state and federal requirements. Read more
Accessible Kitchen Design
Accessible kitchen design is an important topic that is often misunderstood by design professionals. The following article will look at Accessible, Type A, and Type B residential dwelling unit kitchen design requirements as described by ICC/ANSI A117.1 2003.
Accessible Dwelling Unit Kitchens
Accessible dwelling units are the most readily usable of the three types of dwelling units for people with disabilities. Later when we discuss Type A and Type B dwelling units we will find that kitchen requirements for these units are in the dwelling unit section, specifically 1003 and 1004. The technical requirements for accessible dwelling unit kitchens are located in chapter 8, Section 804 and at least one accessible work surface is required in kitchen in chapter 9, Section 902. Read more
