Every design or building issue dealing with the disabled or handicapped cannot be dealt with here. Massive laws have been passed for the purpose of guiding design decisions for buildings intended for use by the disabled. Many of these focus on commercial buildings financed with taxpayer funds, institutional projects where users regularly come when facing health challenges, and multi-family housing of various types, possibly used for occupancy by the elderly.
Read MoreAging in Place: Part 1 | 4 HSW Credits
A year before, she had slipped on ice taking trash out from a back deck. Falling on the steps, she had broken one of her kneecaps. Given her advanced age, it was slow to heal. In the process, favoring one leg had put undue stress on the opposite side hip, which had begun to severely deteriorate. Now, though it seemed her knee had mended, she would not leave the home. And the suddenly obvious answer flashes into your mind: your mother is afraid of her steps. Literally. The memory of the intense pain from the fall, coupled with the weakness in her hip, has left her afraid and unsure of her ability to successfully climb down the front or back steps. Pain, and the fear of more pain, has made her a prisoner in her slightly elevated home.
Read MoreAn Interdisciplinary Look at Sustainable Architecture
Over three dozen experts “from diverse fields—and spanning academia, practice and policy” (p. 3) were included in a discussion that took more than a year to culminate in this succinct and well-thought out document. Their main goal was to identify “ways to advance [the] current understanding and practice of design for sustainability in the environment” (p. 3).
Read More3D Printing: A Decade in Review
The mid-2000s saw 3D printing really hit its stride, after 3D printers became commercially viable and affordable. Within the last decade, we have seen immense growth within the 3D printing industry, to the point where 3D printers are now affordable enough to be purchased by hobbyists. These developments have led to big things in the world of architecture, and so we’ve compiled a list of notable milestones within the last 10 years.
Read MoreAIA Continuing Education FAQ’s
AIA measures continuing education in learning units (LUs). One hour of continuing education earns one LU. AIA Architect members are required to complete 18 LUs each calendar year. Of those 18 LUs, 12 must be in Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) topics.
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