disability access Archives

Designing for Access

This video is a great example of the phenomenon known as "mission creep": We started out with a discussion of what's involved in making a residential swimming pool and spa accessible to someone who uses a wheelchair - a good and worthy subject on its own - but the project so perfectly illustrates a couple of additional points that we kept the camera rolling. The video covers one specific ramp in fine detail, but I want to stress two more general points about planning for wheelchair access: First, a properly sloped ramp

Designing for Access

This video is a great example of the phenomenon known as "mission creep": We started out with a discussion of what's involved in making a residential swimming pool and spa accessible to someone who uses a wheelchair - a good and worthy subject on its own - but the project so perfectly illustrates a couple of additional points that we kept the camera rolling. The video covers one specific ramp in fine detail, but I want to stress two more general points about planning for wheelchair access: First, a properly sloped ramp

Increasing Access

The benefits of swimming and other forms of aquatic exercise are better defined and more widely known than ever before, notes Dr. Bruce Becker, one of the nation’s top researchers into all the good things that happen when people get in the water. But there are a number of obstacles that are keeping some of those who would benefit from actually getting in the water to help themselves, he adds – a surmountable set of issues he explores here. It seems obvious enough. To reap the physical and psychological benefits of swimming and other forms of aquatic exercise and therapy, a person must first get into the water. Experience shows, however, that this initial step is often not

As architects and environmental artists, Suzanne and Ron Dirsmith have always taken pride in creating spaces that nurture the spirit, mind and body. In one recent project, however, they went several steps beyond that in setting up a watershape for a special child who uses water exercise to gain strength, flexibility and freedom. Here’s a look at how they accommodated his needs – and learned a great deal about the healing power of water in the process.

Helping Hands

The notion that water can be used to treat physical problems and conditions is not new. In fact, when you study the history of watershaping and aquatic design, one of the first things you learn is that the ancient Romans might actually have had a better grip on the healing and nurturing powers of water than we ever will. In our own work in designing and installing environments that nurture the spirit and invigorate the body, we pursue that Roman heritage as best we can - and always keep water in mind as a key component. The project described in this article stands as one our most dramatic explorations of the curative power of water to date. The pool, spa and