Tips Archive
A person seated at a kitchen sink often has trouble trying to reach objects on the counter or shelves on either side, without having to reposition themselves.
TIP: In the book Building for a Lifetime, author Margaret Wylde suggests that the sink be positioned at 45 degrees in a corner of the counter, with clear floor space below. This design puts the sink and counter within reach range of a seated person and utilizes the corner space.
Kitchen sink placed in the corner of a kitchen counter.
PROBLEM: How can transfer showers be made safer and easier to use by bathers and care givers?
TIP: At the 2008 American Institute of Architects National Convention and Expo, Gregory J. Scott, AIA presented a seminar titled “Dentures, Denim & Design: Architects Designing for Seniors.” He showed a simple but effective shower plan for resident units at continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). A trapezoidal shower plan is wider at the front thereby providing more room for assistants. The layout is based on a concept from Dr. Lorraine G. Hiatt.
Problem: An attendee with a hearing impairment unexpectedly arrives at a meeting needing a sign language interpreter or an assistive listening device.
TIP: Include a line on every meeting announcement and registration form to identify any special accommodation, service, or equipment that a registrant would need and set notification deadlines. Include space for an email address or tty number so you can call for details. Line up services well in advance, as they are rarely available on short notice. If walk-in’s are encouraged, assistive listening devices should be on hand and sign language interpreters should be on call, if not on site.
Problem: Sometimes the marketing staff of a hotel or meeting facility will say its property is “accessible” — but when participants arrive, they find problems….
TIP: Meeting planners should check a facility’s claim of accessibility. It’s the meeting planner’s responsibility to conduct an accessible meeting and conducting an accessibility audit of the facility prior to the function is the only way to be sure. Many meeting planners do so using a wheelchair. Published survey forms are available on our site in Accommodating All Guests at http://www.universaldesign.com/resources/media/Accomodating%20All%20Guests.pdf (pdf page 60; document page 55) or on the DOJ site at http://www.ada.gov/hsurvey.htm.
Problem: The employee cafeteria has no tray slides, thus a diner who can’t hold the tray while moving down the line, for example a person who uses a wheelchair or crutches, is limited.
TIP: Provide a cart on wheels that can be pushed ahead of the diner.
Problem: Employees who use wheelchairs cannot use desks because they are too low and their knees will not fit under them.
TIP: Raise the desk on wooden blocks, allowing a proper amount of space for the wheelchair to fit under it, or remove a middle (pencil) drawer.
Problem: What’s the big deal if truncated domes are used for decorative purposes on paths of travel?
TIP: The texture of truncated domes must be “reserved” for use as a hazard warning, cautions Harold Kiewel, AIA, NCARB, CSI, CCS. If it is used as a design “feature strip,” as shown in this picture, the texture will become unreliable and useless as a warning to people who are blind or have low vision.
Problem: Table lamps and free-standing room lighting is often operated by small switches on the electrical cord or head of the fixture that require tight grasping or fine finger dexterity.
Tip: Many hardware retailers carry a “touch lamp” adapter that screws into the light bulb socket. With each touch to any metal part of the fixture, the lamp turns on, goes through a gradation of lighting intensities and then turns off.
Problem. Some existing doorways, may have inadequate clear floor area, free of the door swing to allow a person with a walker or a wheelchair to easily open the door.
Tip. Replace the swinging door with a pocket door that slides into the wall.