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Universal Design Newsletter, April 2010 issue (MS Word format)
Universal Design Newsletter, January 2010 issue (MS Word format)
Cynthia Leibrock
Improving People's Lives by Design
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Cynthia Leibrock who was recently featured in a New York Times article on Aging in Place. Here is a feature article we ran in Universal Design Newsletter in July 2006.
She had the career many young designers dream about…a firm of her own, designing homes for people for whom money was no object. In her own words, universal designer Cynthia Leibrock, MA, ASID, Hon. IIDA, now an award winning author and international lecturer, spent the first decade of her career “making rich people, look richer.” But instead of feeling successful, she felt empty. “I didn’t find eternal satisfaction in doing that. I didn’t feel like I had much purpose,” she says. So she fired her dozen employees, shut down her firm and went on a quest to find a purpose for her life. A simple invitation by one of her fired employees to attend a Bible study class led her to
discover her life’s work.
“I grew up with a brother with a mental disability. One of the reasons that I ended up doing high end work was that it was as far away from disability as I could get,” she said. But her spiritual journey brought her full circle. “I found that I wanted to improve the lives of older people and people with disabilities by design,” says Leibrock. With certain deliberateness, she works toward that goal in her many and varied projects and endeavors.
Universal Design Newsletter April 2009 (MS Word)
Previous Features
- The Access Board's David Capozzi: Rising Through the Ranks -- David Capozzi
- "It's Not You, It's the House" -- Leon Harper
- "Doing the Right Thing Shouldn't Be So Hard" -- The Carlyle Suites Hotel, Washington, DC
People in the Field of Universal Design
Capozzi Talks about the New ADAAG
Universal Design Newsletter asked new Access Board Executive Director David Capozzi about some significant changes found in the 2004 Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (2004 ADAAG).
“Everything is covered.” In the 1991 ADAAG things that are not described are not covered, and many non-fixed items, such as dining tables are exempted. The new
standards cover everything (fixed or not) even if not described. “You can’t regulate everything, that is why we have a robust technical assistance line,” says Capozzi. “…We get those calls often. ‘I’m building X and how do I apply your guidelines to that?’”
He says that the staff that write the guidelines are the same staff that answer the technical assistance questions and go out and provide training. Aside from having highly qualified personnel consistently and confidently answering questions, the process helps the staff identify issues that might need to be regulated. “You can’t nor should you ever try to regulate everything,” says Capozzi.
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Aging at Home: Helping Seniors Stay Put
August 26, 2010
Aging at Home is a series of reports from NPR’s Jennifer Ludden, examining trends of an aging American demographic. The reports aired the week of August 23 on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. The overview and links to all of the reports can be found at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129085934.
Aging: Universal Design, which aired August 24 on All Things Considered, focused on the increasing desire of people to remain in their homes as they age. The online coverage of this report links to UD&C’s Home for the Next 50 Years project. Another resource to help those looking to adapt their homes to better allow them to age in place is The Do*Able, Renewable Home, a brochure authored by UD&C Founder and President John Salmen, and published by AARP.
Adapting Entryways and Thresholds for Disabilities
August 24, 2010
An article published today on the Networx home improvement web site, focused on using Universal Design to make homes more accessible. Interviewed in the article are UD&C’s president and founder, John P.S. Salmen, as well as Danise Levine, assistant director of the Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) Center at the University of Buffalo, and Judith Nicholson, principal of The Interior Design Group, a Boston-area interior design firm specializing in aging in place.
In the article, Salmen discusses two Universal Design projects he and UD&C have been involved with, at both ends of the spectrum: The Home for the Next 50 Years, the remodeling of his own home to make it more livable as he and his wife age, and The Do-Able Renewable Home, a book Salmen wrote, published by AARP, which offers ideas for simple changes you can make to your home to help it adapt as you grow older.
The full article can be accessed at: http://www.networx.com/article/adapting-entryways-an-thresholds-for-dis.
September 2 Webinar on Updated ADA Regulations/2010 Standards for Accessible Design
August 9, 2010
Provided by the US Access Board and the Department of Justice
Thursday, September 2
1:30-4:00 pm ET
On July 26, the Department of Justice issued rules to update its ADA regulations and implement new accessibility standards for facilities. During this webinar, DOJ representatives will highlight what is new in the revised Title II and Title III regulations, including requirements for existing facilities. Access Board staff will review major changes in the new ADA standards, which are based on accessibility guidelines established by the Board. A significant portion of the program will be reserved for open Q&A with presenters. The webinar is free, but registration is required; visit http://www.accessibilityonline.org for more information or to register.