Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The purpose of the study was to measure and analyze the accessibility of facilities housing programs in Architecture in the North-East and East-Central Regions of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.The philosophical basis for the study was a theory in Architecture that the environment can teach. Extending the theory to the topic of the study, students of Architecture needed to learn in buildings accessible to the disabled in order to have the best chance of designing accessible buildings in professional practice.The thirty-three sites included in the study were visited between August and November of 1980, after the buildings were required by law to be accessible. The Revised Accessibility Checklist recommended by the Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects was used to gather the data The Accessibility Checklist was based directly on the requirements of Specification 117.1 of the American National Standards Institute. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required all facilities to meet the standards established in ANSI Specification 117.1. Data were also gathered regarding design characteristics, including age, style of design, original use, extent of renovation, and context of location, to determine whether accessibility was influenced by specific design factors. Criteria were established in the dissertation to determine whether a building was excellent, good, average, below average, or poor in accessibility to disabled persons.Of the facilities surveyed, three were excellent, three good, three average, twelve below average, and eleven poor in terms of accessibility to disabled persons. Overall, the buildings rated below average. Twenty-three of the thirty-three buildings surveyed, seventy percent, did not comply with Federal accessibility law. Thirty-six percent of the buildings did not have an accessible primary entrance; fifty-two percent of the rest rooms were not accessible; and thirty-two percent of the buildings did not have elevators.Major conclusions regarding design characteristics were: 1) The design characteristic with the greatest influence on accessibility was extent of renovation. 2) Modern buildings rated better than revival structures. 3) Buildings completed since 1960 received higher accessibility classifications than buildings completed earlier. 4) Buildings located in a campus setting received higher classifications than urban structures.Recommendations for specific renovations to the thirty-three facilities surveyed were made for improving accessibility. The study also recommended the American Institute of Architects, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, and member schools should establish a policy of making teaching facilities accessible to the disabled.Thesis (D. Ed.