Project Director's Report
Author: Oce Harrison
Building Boston: Can We Make the World a Better Place to Live?
Build Boston, coming this November, is on our minds here at Adaptive Environments as we work on this issue of Access New England. This premiere event is New England’s largest regional tradeshow for the design and construction industry in the U.S. Each year, Build Boston attracts over 15,000 architects, contractors, engineers, and designers to its workshops and exhibit hall. As part of Build Boston, this year, more than ever, Adaptive Environments will provide guidance on how to better build Boston…Massachusetts… New England, and beyond! Adaptive Environments will deliver a stunning Universal Design (UD) Symposium, and workshops on the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Our newsletter, Access New England, highlights state and federal accessibility requirements, and universal design principles in this issue. Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director of Adaptive Environments – the person behind the Universal Design Symposium, provides an appealing overview of universal design in her article, Trancending 'Just Tell Me What I Have to Do'. Look for Valerie at Build Boston. Her symposium will focus on the impact of design on the workplace, healthcare settings, transportation, college classrooms, museums - and our brains. There is also an exciting workshop on the natural relationship between universal design and green design. These workshops are kicked off by a universal design breakfast where you will be inspired to transform your life at home, at work and in the community, both here and around the world.
In another article, Kathy Gips, Director of ADA Center Training has designed a helpful chart unscrambling the perplexity between state and federal accessibility requirements (See Frequently Asked Questions). Kathy will also offer workshops on Massachusetts and federal accessibility requirements and ADA updates at Build Boston.
In addition, our state affiliate in Maine, Denis Pratt, Architect at Alpha One and a US Access Board member discusses Maine’s trail blazing history in providing accessibility to persons with disabilities. See his article ‘Maine’s Milestones in Accessibility History’.
Be sure to visit Adaptive Environment’s exhibit booth—number 965—at Build Boston. We’ll see you at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, November 13-15. We’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can make the world a better place to live.
See you there,
Oce
