Accessibility Design
Well known Federally-mandated accessibility design standards were formulated in the early 1990s with the adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) although similar architectural standards preceded the ADA wherein our practice has included numerous evaluations of existing sites for accessibility conformance. We have also served as accessibility design experts for major clients such as Hermes of Paris, the Bellagio, a major Las Vegas hotel and casino, and significant locations.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines of March 6, 1991, the same year as the ADA design standards went into effect. Both the HUD and ADA standards were created in part from the requirements of ANSI A117.1-1986 American National Standard for Buildings and Facilities – Providing Accessibility and Usability for Physically Handicapped People, a standard still required within local building codes.
Essentially, the purpose of the various accessibility design standards is to prohibit the discrimination of disabled persons with regard to accessibility and the use of various facilities. Essentially, the referenced standards require access to, into, and throughout various non-residential facilities (with some exceptions for residences). The term “disabled persons” or “disability” includes various elements such as sight, speech, hearing, and mobility limitations, in addition to the plethora of other “impairments.”
In the course of our expertise, we have analyzed numerous accident sites with regard to accessibility requirements, often finding violations of critical local and federal standards of accessibility affecting those persons with a more significant “standard of care.”