Getting Particulars on Universal Design

Inside MS, Fall, 1998

Thinking about retrofitting your bath--for everyone? Need an entrance everyone can use? Want kitchen utensils that everyone can handle easily? Check out these resource centers for a wealth of information and ideas:

Adaptive Environments Center, 374 Congress Street, Ste. 301, Boston, MA 02210; 617-695-1225; adaptenv.org

This non-profit organization promotes UD and accessibility through their technical assistance publications, design advocacy, and education programs. They also manage the New England ADA Technical Assistance Center and provided the ADA Information File distributed to public libraries and ADA Technical Assistance Centers around the country. [To reach the Technical Assistance Center nearest you, call 800-949-4232.]

The Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University, Box 8613, Raleigh, NC 27695-8613; 800-647-6777; www.design. ncsu.edu/cud

The Center's mission is to improve the built environment for all users and increase adoption of UD by product manufacturers through research, information, training, and design assistance. They offer an extensive list of books, technical design bulletins, product fact sheets, videos, and other information.

Concrete Change, 1371 Metropolitan Avenue, Atlanta GA 30316; concretechange. home.mindspring.com

This group's focus is malting all homes "visit-able"--which means that entrances and interior doorways should be usable by everyone. They offer clear construction guidelines to facilitate this.

IDEA: Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access, School of Architecture and Planning, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214-3087; 716-829-3485, ext. 329; www.arch. buffalo.edu/~idea

IDEA provides technical expertise in architecture, product design, facilities management, and behavioral sciences in the service of barrier-free design and UD principles. They offer information on new products, fair housing resources, as well as publications, videotapes, and slide shows on accessible storage, plumbing, and appliances, UD bathrooms and kitchens, and other subjects.

Trace Research & Development Center, 5901 Research Park Blvd., Madison, WI 53719-1252; 608-262-6966 (V) or 608-263-5408 (TTY); trace.wisc.edu

The Trace R&D Center has the mission to advance the ability of people with disabilities to achieve their life objectives through the use of communication, computer, and information technologies, and their research projects support this. They provide information to the public via Co-Net (the Cooperative Electronic Library on Disability) CD-ROM, and other sources; portions of the database are available on their web site.

"Unlimited By Design," Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 2 E. 91st St., New York, NY 10128-0669; 212-849-8400, 212-849-8386 (TTY); www.si.edu/ndm

This show features 150 examples of UD from kitchen utensils to a playground and a garden. It will be open from November 17, 1998 to March 21, 1999.