Accessibility for All through Universal Design 

 Facts and Figures: Canada’2020: Population 38m 

Accessible Canada Act/ACA’2019 

Premise: Barrier-Free Environment in Canada by 2040 

ACA is applicable to about 6m Canadians with disabilities, yet ACA does not apply to private homes. 

ACA’19 is applicable to entities under federal jurisdiction & industries under regulatory charter of Canada i.e., aviation, banking etc. 

What is a Disability? Disability impacts all of us. Most all Canadians shall suffer from impairments during their lifespans. These impairments shall be due to diagnosis, aging, obesity, combat related & live/work/play mishaps etc. Aging and Obesity (morbid) in particular impose a prevalence of sensory (visual, hearing), manipulatory and locomotor impairments with varying levels of severity and duration. 

StatCan: If we could fit the entire Canadian population (38m) into a room of 100 people maintaining the proportions of Canadians suffering from impairments described above, the room shall have following demographics. ACA (22), Combat Veterans (4), Aging (17), Obesity (32) 

Conclusion: By extrapolating above data, we can see that about 75% or 3 out of 4 Canadians currently suffer from impairments that substantially limit life activities. The modeling projections point to higher proportions during the next 25 years. 

Despite above demographics & future trends, there is a perception & beliefs in the design, engineering and building industry that the “accessibility ordinances” are excessively cautionary, and amount to mandating for worst case scenarios. Barrier Free Environment is, in fact, the desirable outcome of designing for the best situation because it accommodates the needs of broad spectrum of Canadians population with changing demographics. 

Such an environment is possible when based on design that is all inclusive, adaptive and is universally applicable. This presentation shall explore a) the accessibility enabling principles (7) enumerated in 1997 under ” Universal Design” by a group of esteemed designers at a State University in North Carolina/USA and explore advances in wifi enabled/Internet connectivity that enables accessibility of our surroundings thru information and communication. 

 

BIO

Ramesh Gulatee, Architect, NCARB 

Licensures: Canada/USA 

Advocacy Activities 2008: Sponsor of resolution on “Universal Design” at the AIA’08 convention, Boston/MA (Resolution was adopted as AIA’s policy statement on accessibility) 

2010: Participant at the accessibility summit’ Wash DC/20th. ADA Anniversary 

(UD was chosen as 1 of 7 strands of topics for discussion amongst delegates) 

Presentations: 

Accessibility Summit, 21st World Congress/UN body, Quebec City 

AIA National, Multiple AIA IL. chapters, UL & industry events. 

Profile/1996-2022 Design/Manage & Build accessibility upgrades for special needs families, Illinois. 

Accessibility remodel of a residence for a WW2 veteran, Illinois. 

Transformation of a historic airplane hanger into an accessibility center, Illinois. 

Accessibility Remodel, Private waterfront residence, Wisconsin 

Housing Redevelopment (former US army base), Fort Sheridan, Illinois State Place Mixed Use Condominium/Residential Development, Chicago 

The Goodman Theatre Center, Chicago 

McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago 

Montreal Convention Center. Montreal 

Universal Access Housing (CMHC), WW2 veterans, Montreal 

Multiple accessibility reviews, Chicago Public Schools