May 22, 2020
Why Are There So Few Great Accessible Buildings?
Design historian Bess Williamson assesses the state of accessible architecture in 2020, which marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Studio Pacifica, a Seattle-based accessibility consulting and education firm led by Karen L. Braitmayer, has worked across sectors in architecture to bring universal design to the masses. Among its recent endeavors was a collaboration with Olson Kundig on the Space Needle. Studio Pacifica’s creation of an innovative chairlift enables wheelchair users to access the external observation deck. Courtesy Carlos Dominguez/Photography Courtesy Hufton + Crow; Alex Fritz/Olson Kundig
Barely two weeks after the New York Times praised Steven Holl Architects’ new $40 million Queens Public Library branch in Hunters Point as “one of the finest public buildings New York has produced this century,” several local blogs revealed its missteps when it comes to accessibility. The fiction section, for instance, features a lofty hideaway of shelves framed by steps on either side, creating cozy reading nooks but eliminating access to [...]