It takes more than a Sloped Curb...

Improving accessibility for People with Disabilities is core of new video.

The Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities has created a video “Access Maze” to demonstrate the challenges – and solutions – for creating user-friendly accessible offices, homes and other living, working and business spaces. While design may meet ADA requirements, some features, such as the wideness of doors, floor surfaces, table heights and work surfaces and the ability to maneuver and turn, still may make it challenging for many people with disabilities.

The volunteer Committee, which advises the Minneapolis Mayor and City Council on issues affecting people with disabilities, was responsible for developing this video and raising private funds to support the project.

The video is a spin-off of the “Access Maze,” which the committee developed in the mid-'90s (the Maze received national recognition and was awarded the Grand Prize from the National Organization on Disability). The idea for the maze came from a few architects and an interior designer, who wanted to get the word out among other design professionals about how to improve accessibility. The Access Maze was a full-scale model of the Americans with Disabilities Act standards for accessible design. The wooden construction demonstrated most of the design options including doors, ramps, bathroom transfers and ranges of reach for fixture installations. The Access Maze was carefully constructed to the code's minimum standards. Individuals could experience the Maze by using a wheelchair to try the different ramp slopes and experience for themselves the accessibility difficulties that exist even though ADA code is met. This maze was set up at several conferences at the Minneapolis Convention center, where many individuals experienced the code limitations.

The Maze was an effective learning tool, but it was too large and cumbersome to transport to the host of conventions and events that would bring the kind of exposure the group was looking for, so the Committee decided to develop a video access maze to bring the message to a wider professional audience.

The Advisory Committee developed the video, building on the idea of the actual maze: enhancing understanding about accessibility issues among designers, builders, interns and experienced architects, interior designers and the general public. The video includes features of the Access Maze, using computer-enhanced graphics and live footage in order to give participants a 'virtual tour' of the Maze.

“An accessible environment builds a sense of community because it allows all of the members of the community free access and free interaction,” says Harold Kiewel, a Minneapolis architect who appears in the video and was instrumental in its original creation. “When a design is welcoming and supportive for the interaction of people with all levels of abilities, there’s a stronger sense of community and the community is more diverse. And a more diverse community is a stronger and healthier community.”

The video project was funded entirely through project contributions from the American Institute of Architects and seven local architectural firms. Copies of the Video Access Maze are available for $29.95 plus shipping by calling 612-673-3757 or the order page.

AccessMaze.org
Minneapolis Advisory Committee
on People with Disabilities
350 South 5th Street, Room 11
Minneapolis, MN 55415