New Book Promotes Accessibility in Design & Construction, Helps Assure Fair Housing Act Compliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Will Zachmann
Director of Communications
Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
202-628-6100 ext. 201
swamedia@swinter.com

July 24, 2001

Imagine you're searching for an apartment, and you've found the perfect neighborhood - good schools, close to public transportation, all the amenities - but you can't get through the front door. You've got the deposit in hand and can easily afford the rent, but physical barriers are literally holding you back. Like hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities, your dream home is inaccessible because there are steps leading to all the entryways. Even if you could get inside, the halls and doorways may be too narrow to maneuver your wheelchair, and simple tasks like turning on the lights are problematic when the switches are out of reach. This frustrating scenario is commonplace for people with disabilities, so the federal government - and some private firms - are doing something about it.

One such firm is Steven Winter Associates, which has just produced A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility. Subtitled "Everything Architects and Builders Need to Know About the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines", the book is required reading for anyone involved in multi-family housing design, development, and construction. A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility builds on a larger government effort to step up enforcement of the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines. Failure to comply with these Guide-lines can result in a complaint for discriminatory housing practice, stiff fines, mandatory training, and in some cases, extensive remodeling. A Basic Guide provides building professionals with clear, concise interpretations of the Accessibility Guidelines and descriptive illustrations of proper conformance, as an aid to compliance.

Inspired by the author's HUD-sponsored review of nearly 400 built projects, this compact and comprehensive guide reviews the Guidelines for conformance with the seven basic design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Amendments Act, from accessible building entrances to usable kitchens, and points out common conformance errors made by architects, builders, and developers. This practical, easy-to-follow handbook:

• Demystifies accessibility guidelines and reduces the risk of litigation;
• Explains which buildings and units are covered by the law; and
• Provides a compliance checklist for multifamily housing design and construction.

Featuring only the facts and technical guidance needed to help ensure compliance with the Guidelines, A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility is an indispensable resource for architects, builders, contractors, site engineers, and developers who need to know that their work is in conformance with federal guidelines. "Having worked with HUD for several years on Fair Housing Act compliance research, I've developed a real appreciation for the designer's role in making sure that multifamily housing is accessible," says author Peter Stratton of Steven Winter Associates. "The simple things that some of us take for granted - bringing groceries in from the store or safely getting in and out of the shower - can be tremendous obstacles in buildings where the designer or builder has failed to take Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines into account. This book gives construction professionals who want to build in conformance with the Act the tools they need to ensure that their properties are accessible, both inside and out."

Purchase Information
$39.95, 191 pages, the softbound A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility can be purchased at www.Amazon.com, by calling publisher John Wiley & Sons at 1-800-225-5945, or wherever architecture and construction books are sold. ISBN 0-471-39559-5

Steven Winter Associates is an architecture, engineering, and building systems research firm with offices in Norwalk, CT and Washington, DC. The firm specializes in energy performance analysis, sustainable materials specification, indoor environmental quality, accessibility, technology transfer, and project/event management. Information on this and related projects is available on the SWA website at www.swinter.com.

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