AIA|LA Continuing Education Accessibility Seminars: Stepping Thru Accessible Environments As We Age and A Photographic Look at Recurrent Non-Complying Elements

Learning Units: 5 Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) Health|Safety|Welfare Units

The silver tsunami is here! Now that the baby boomer generation is aging, we need to consider how this impacts our built environment – an overview of design considerations and lighting which can easily be addressed now to not only allow us to age in place later but also to have others visit us whether they have issues concerning accessibility or aging, whether just slowing down, or have a more vigorous disability. This seminar addresses more than just the minimum standards of technical accessible design, but rather good design practices and implementation overall. We will discuss common areas of concern and issues of aging and our built environment thru photographs of both good and more challenging examples of typical elements.

ADA and other accessibility regulations have been around for well over 25 years, yet we still see items of non-compliance even in new construction. Is this due to a lack of knowledge, or incomplete drawings and specifications, or sloppy construction, or is it that the topic has become so complex that it is difficult to synthesize all of the relevant information? And many of the items are indeed extremely technical yet the solutions need to be incorporated at the early non-technical design stages. This presentation will look at many common items in non-compliance often found in new construction and alterations. Learn thru a visual synthesis of photos with pertinent regulation call-outs of numerous existing installations. We will discuss what went wrong, was missing, or misunderstood, in order to recognize Access issues to be on the look-out for and how to better incorporate pertinent information into construction documents and specifications.

An overview of design considerations which can easily be addressed now to not only allow us to age in place later but also have others visit us whether they have issues concerning accessibility or aging. This presentation will look at many common items in non-compliance often found in new construction and alterations thru a visual synthesis of photos with pertinent regulation call-outs of numerous existing installations.

PRESENTER:

• Janis Kent, FAIA, CASp, Architect – Certified Access Specialist & Subject Matter Expert, Stepping Thru Accessibility

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Understand how different types of disabilities impact our navigation of the built environment
• Recognize those elements in buildings that impact and can be more of a challenge as we age
• Learn about different items that can easily be implemented now for aging in place later
• Distinguish and identify different hazards to avoid in the built environment