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Architectural Literacy

© Scott Paul Rains

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." -- attributed to Mark Twain

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Literacy means more than just recognizing symbols or sounding out marks on a page. Literacy also awakens memory to construct meaning.

I enjoy a memorable phrase and, although it is unlikely that Mark Twain ever gave that insightful description of the counterintuitive climate in San Francisco above, I have often used it to help out-of-town visitors select an appropriate travel wardrobe for the San Francisco Bay Area.

I especially like memorable phrases that move forward public understanding of Universal Design . One that came to my attention this week is a quote from renowned architect John P. S. Salmen describing ramps as "an indication of a mistake on the part of a designer."

As a wheelchair user I am often surprised by illiterate design statements--mistakes--that have become concretized in the built environment. Even when the designer clearly had "wheelchair accessibility" in mind it is as if he or she had never explored the body of good design that they could "quote from."

Good design involves developing the sort of "architectural literacy" that was the genius of the founders of Universal Design--a concept they developed long before the more familiar Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA specifies a minimum threshold--a "zero order element"--from which to begin dialogue. The ADAAG (Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines) goes on to specify the bare minimum requirements for safe, functional accessible design. Neither are a substitite for a well-formed, literate imagination.

A ramp is a good thing, as far as design afterthoughts go.

The right solution assumes non-grade entries as standard and rigorously justifies a design element that excludes certain people from participation in that built environment. The right solution is inclusive.

Salmen's point emphasizes the difference between accessible design and Universal Design --a significant, if not immediately apparent distinction that has been elaborated by Dr. Edward Steinfeld in the 1994 article The Concept of Universal Design:

Universal Design is different than accessible design. Accessible design means products and buildings that are accessible and usable by people with disabilities. Universal design means products and buildings that are accessible and usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.

I have called this difference between "constructing to ADA specifications" and "designing with ADA guidelines" the difference between "sterile" and "style."

Steinfeld, who will keynote the Santa Cruz California Universal Design Conference, is Director of the IDEA Center at SUNY, Buffalo. As the web site for the Santa Cruz conference explains: