Four-Part Series on Accessibility and the ADAAG

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Four-Part Series on Accessibility and the ADAAG

The series, approved by the AIA for HSW learning unit hours, is as follows:

The ADAAG Special Sections: Completing the Accessibility Picture
This session highlights the Special Sections of the current ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and informs participants of where to find particular requirements as they relate to specific industry facilities. The Special Sections help to complete the picture for designers of eateries; libraries; and medical care, mercantile, lodging, and transportation facilities. The information found in these sections helps to fill in the gaps for particular requirements of businesses not necessarily or specifically covered in the general section of the guidelines.
Accessibility in the Public Rights-of-Way: Access on the Road
In 1999, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) established the Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (PROWAAC) to make recommendations on accessibility guidelines for newly constructed public rights-of-way covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. The committee's report provided recommendations on access to sidewalks, street crossings, and other related pedestrian facilities. This session will explore various issues and design constraints reference the committee's report, and the Access Board's recently published draft guidelines, addressing various issues and design constraints specific to public rights-of-way.
Common Errors & Omissions in New Construction: Better Design = Less Rebuilds
The Common Errors & Omissions session is based on two documents by the same name produced by the Department of Justice. The documents address common problems found in new construction, and in their latest document, problems in lodging facilities. The session will include discussion of accessibility surveying and how industry tolerances play into the measurements used to determine whether features are accessible. Explanations about the "why" behind certain accessible features will be included and may help architects who think about "making a good design accessible" to think about "creating good accessible design." By catching typical design errors before their projects leave the drawing table, participants and their clients will benefit from this session.
Harmonization of the Standards Getting Everyone on the "Same Page"
Harmonization is the term being used to describe the process of making accessibility in the various building codes and Federal civil rights law match each other. Harmonization would enable architects to use one set of accessibility standards to design accessible facilities. Currently the building code community is moving toward national adoption of the International Building Code which references the ICC/ANSI standard for accessibility, as the Access Board is revising the ADAAG standard. This session will provide an update on the draft ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines recently published by the Access Board, and how that rulemaking process is moving forward toward harmonization of the standards.