Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Monday, April 07, 2008
Arlington Explores Art of Designing for Every Stage of Life
Architectural Speaker Series: Universal Design
Contact: Sakura Namioka, Community Planning and Housing Development
Tel: 703-228-3531 TTY: 703-228-4611 email: snamio@arlingtonva.us
ARLINGTON, Va. – Richard Duncan, one of the nation’s foremost experts in universal design, will explore the art of making products and environments usable by people of all ages during a presentation at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 17.
Duncan’s appearance is the latest installment of Arlington County’s Architectural Speaker Series, a County Board initiative to encourage a broad, community-wide conversation about challenges in achieving architectural excellence in public and private buildings.
Universal design stresses finding solutions that help everyone and incorporating them into the overall design of civic, commercial and private buildings. It focuses on children, older adults, people with disabilities or those who are of an atypical size or shape, or are ill, injured or inconvenienced by circumstance -- in other words, virtually everyone. The approach respects human diversity and promotes inclusion of all people in all activities of life.
Interest in universal design growing
Duncan’s presentation comes at a time when demand is growing for information about changing customer needs, and home and neighborhood design issues. America’s altered demographics have produced a growing need for homes and communities that better support average people’s typical activities and are more accommodating when our abilities change.
Duncan will explore the philosophy of universal design and how the concept emerged in the1980s, and illuminate differences between universal design and accessible design and code compliance.
Arlington reaching for architectural excellence
The Arlington County Board launched the Architectural Speaker Series in 2006. In three previous installments, the Board has brought nationally and internationally-known experts in various fields of architecture to Arlington to engage in freewheeling exchanges with residents, staffers and elected officials. The long-term goal is to improve the quality of public and private architecture in the County.
About Richard Duncan
Richard Duncan has spent nearly 25 years in the field of architectural and product accessibility and universal design in residential, public and transportation environments. He helped Habitat for Humanity improve its capacity to produce universal housing in one project and in another, opened a universal demonstration home in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Duncan is an associate with the National Center of Supportive Housing and Home Modifications, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and serves on the board of Housing Works in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is editor of A Blueprint for Action and was project director of the MBTA Guide to Access: Guidelines for Designing Barrier Free Transportation Facilities.
Duncan’s presentation is free and open to the public. It will take place at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater, 1611 Kent Street, in Arlington. The Theater is Metro accessible.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world - including the Pentagon - Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.
