Grand Rapids YMCA is first building to adopt universal design standards
The University at Buffalo’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center), in collaboration with the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC), has developed the first set of universal design certification standards for commercial buildings – See more at: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2016/01/002.html#sthash.qfo7jbri.dpuf
An auditorium specially designed for those with disabilities
Going to the movies or seeing a performance can be challenging for people with disabilities. The hard of hearing struggle to decipher speech amid background noise and reverberation, while those who have difficulty seeing find it hard to find their seats in dimly lit halls.
Most New York City Elementary Schools Are Violating Disabilities Act, Investigation Finds
A two-year federal investigation has concluded that 83 percent of New York City’s public elementary schools are not “fully accessible” to children with disabilities, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Hotel Centered Around Workers With Special Needs Set To Open
A first-of-its-kind, fully-functioning teaching hotel designed to provide job training and employment for people with disabilities is ready to open its doors.
Better by Design: Hospital architecture can help patients heal
When an architect plans a new hospital, she’s doing more than designing rooms in which doctors meet sick patients and work to make them well. She’s designing a space through which the people, materials, and ideas that drive health care will flow, one that can help patients regain health as it helps maintain the well-being […]
Mary Free Bed YMCA opens doors
West Michigan is now home to a “first-of-its-kind” YMCA. The new Mary Free Bed YMCA in Cascade Township will be the first YMCA facility in the world to receive a Universal Design certification, which recognizes the “revolutionary” architecture of the building, specifically designed to equally serve all people, regardless of their abilities.
Deafness, disability and design: the case of ‘Deaf Village Ireland’
I have been visiting Deaf Village Ireland regularly over the past nine months, speaking and walking through it with management, staff and users of the centre. Located in Cabra, in the northwestern area of Dublin, Deaf Village Ireland is a social, leisure and community hub serving the needs of the d/Deaf communities in Ireland as […]
Mary Free Bed YMCA the First Building in the World to have Universal Design Certification
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – September 15, 2015 –The YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids has partnered with the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University and the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access at the University of Buffalo (IDeA Center), leading organizations in advancing the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities.
Should Business Care about Universal Design?
Universal design needs to cross into mainstream design to service a growing market driven by changing demographics and a socially responsible business world looking for new opportunities. Universal design has been described as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation […]
Arkansas Universal Design Mobile Display
The Arkansas Universal Design Mobile Display is a Universally Designed display bathroom built inside of a trailer. The trailer can be reserved by home shows, county fairs, professional conferences, and other large venues that wish to educate the public through a hands on exploration of Universal Design. Its purpose is to inform the public, as […]