Accessibility · ADA + Universal Design
ADA, California Building Code and Fair Housing accessibility design for residential, multifamily, commercial and healthcare projects across Southern California.
The idea
Accessible design is usually treated as a set of measurements applied near the end of a project. That produces buildings that pass plan check and still fail the person using them: a bathroom with correct clearances and a faucet nobody with limited grip can turn, an entry that meets slope requirements and routes a wheelchair user away from where everyone else arrives.
Michael B. Maclaren, AIA, who performs architectural services in association with Apel Design, is a registered nurse of more than twenty-five years and brings a lifetime of direct personal experience with accessibility. That combination changes the question from whether a drawing complies to whether the space actually works.
Knowledge + experience
Applicable standards vary by building type, funding source and jurisdiction, and are confirmed against the governing agency on every project.
California Building Code accessibility provisions, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Fair Housing Act requirements for covered multifamily dwellings each reach different projects. Establishing which apply, and where they conflict, belongs at the start.
Approach, parking, arrival, slope, cross-slope, landings, door opening force and thresholds. This is where accessibility most often fails in practice.
Turning space, transfer space, fixture placement, blocking for grab bars whether or not they are installed initially, and controls a person can actually operate.
Multifamily units built so a bathroom or kitchen can be modified for a wheelchair user without structural work, because the clearances and blocking are already present.
Making the standard condition usable by the widest range of people, which usually costs nothing when decided early and a great deal when decided late.
Light levels, contrast at stair nosings and thresholds, acoustic control, and wayfinding that works by landmark rather than by signage alone.
Barrier removal, path of travel obligations triggered by alteration, and the difference between what is required and what is readily achievable.
Accessibility details drawn properly the first time, so the requirements survive plan check and construction rather than being resolved in the field.
The path
Confirm which accessibility standards govern this project, this site and this use.
Build the requirements into the plan while the plan can still absorb them.
Draw the conditions where accessibility is actually delivered, rather than noting the code section.
Check what was built against what was drawn, before it becomes a problem for an occupant.
Questions
No. Accessibility is integrated into our architectural and design-build work rather than offered as a separate certification service. Where a project requires a formal CASp inspection or report, we engage a Certified Access Specialist as a consultant, as we have on past projects. Michael B. Maclaren, AIA, is a registered nurse with a lifetime of direct personal experience of accessibility, so the requirements are understood in the design rather than delegated entirely.
It depends on building type, use, funding and jurisdiction. A single-family home, a covered multifamily building and a public accommodation are governed differently, and California requirements are frequently stricter than the federal minimum.
At plan stage. Clear floor space, door swings, bathroom dimensions and route grades shape the plan itself. Applying them afterwards means losing area or accepting a compromised result.
Accessible means meeting the applicable code requirements. Adaptable means the unit can be modified later without structural work. Universal design means the standard condition works for the widest range of people without any modification at all.
Public accessibility codes generally do not govern a private residence, but many clients want a home that works as their needs change. Designing for that from the start costs very little and is difficult to add later.
Related capability
Healthcare, senior living, affordable and multifamily projects share the same requirements: accessible routes, usable bathrooms, adaptable units and buildings that work for people whose needs change. Michael B. Maclaren, AIA, who performs architectural services in association with Apel Design, has been a registered nurse for more than twenty-five years.
Accessibility in practice
Every image below is from an Apel Design project.
