Category Archives: misc.

The Old Well gets ADA-accessible Face Lift

Posted on by

Long time readers may know that my blood runs Carolina Blue.  As a double Tar Heel and a Chapel Hill resident, I’ve seen the Old Well, the symbolic center/emblem of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for many years.

The Old Well, before the renovation, (c) Kelly.arch3, CC by SA 4.0 via Wikimedia

Today, she’s sporting a new look:  an ADA accessible look.  UNC reported yesterday that it has completed its project to make the Old Well accessible to those in wheel chairs through a ramp project that has been artfully integrated into the area.

The adaption looks like it was always part of the original plan, and, far from being an eye sore, looks pretty spiffy.

Read about the renovation and see the new Old Well (an oxymoron?) and see the construction and finished project by clicking here.

Thoughts on the design?  Do you agree or disagree that it looks intentional and not out of place?  Share below in the comments, or drop me  a note.

 

When the Civil Engineer wears the Hero’s Cape (book review)

Posted on by

“It’s one thing to erroneously tell someone to drive through a lake.  It’s quite another to drive someone through a lake.”  So explains fictional Civil Engineer Jake Bendel when discussing the need for complete accuracy in a fully automated highway system in the “civil engineer thriller” Civil Terror:  Gridlock by J. Luke Bennecke.  Civil Terror

In Gridlock, Bennecke, a civil engineer in real life, describes a near-future in which traffic accidents and heavy commutes are a thing of the past, thanks to a “100% accurate” roadway system of self-driving cars which utilize GPS, cell-phone pings, and a loosely-described “proprietary system” of tracking signals.

Things are going along well until a terrorist devises a scheme to kill thousands of commuters by subverting the computer code and causing massive traffic accidents all up and down the California highway system.  Thanks to planted evidence by the terrorist, the FBI suspects Jake and not the true villain.  What follows is a fun crime-thriller-esque novel in which Jake proves to be the unlikely hero.

In the novel, Bennecke explores the realities of a fully-automated traffic system (versus the current one-car-at-a-time system), and the tremendous benefits that could result.  It is also a fun read, especially for civil engineers and those that love them.  As fictional Jake in the novel points out, “[N]obody wants to read a technical thesis about the gritty details of fully automating cars and trucks on freeways…. Unless they were having a hard time going to sleep, ‘cause that would certainly do the trick.”  Instead, Jake in the novel, and Bennecke in real life, pens a novel where the civil engineer gets to wear the hero’s cape, vanquish the bad guy, and save the day.

This book is not an in-depth discussion of the engineering, legal, and insurance implications of self-driving cars.  Instead, it is a fun, quick read where the engineering concept is simply one of many plot points.  Even so, this might be novel as a gift for the favorite civil engineer in your own life!  (after all, Mother’s/Father’s Day is coming!!]

Have you thought about fully-automated highway systems?  See the promise/problems?  Share in the comment section.

[Editor’s note:  I received a review copy of this book for consideration, but will not receive any benefit if you purchase it].

Green & Sustainable Roof Design- A Durham Case Study

Posted on by

A recent Roofing Magazine article featured a Durham, North Carolina green home belonging to Alison Trott.  The home is notable for its extensive green and sustainable roof features.

green roof Durham

For a relatively modest 3,400 sq footprint, the house has many different types of roof designs, including a standing seam metal roof on a high gable, a standing seam metal roof that becomes a metal wall, a built up roof with floating deck and a glass railing system.  Then, there is a full green roof over one wing of the house.

That green roof, from Xero Flor America (a Durham company and client of my Firm), was laid down over a hot-mop coal tar pitch roof by Asheville company Living Roof Inc.  Architect for the project was Tina Govan / Somos Design of Raleigh, together with CUBE design + research of Chapel Hill.  Check out the full article in Roofing Magazine’s April 2018 issue.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to the blog, and get your free White Paper by clicking on the icon on the right hand side of the Blog’s home page.  And, if you have any green roof questions, let me know and we’ll see if we can’t get the experts to respond.

 

Contract Change #4: Commencement & Completion dates in the AIA documents (law note)

Posted on by

We’re in the final countdown of the Top 10 Changes to the AIA A201 contracts.  [For the previous post, on Liquidated Damages, go here].

start

Today, dates of commencement & completion.  Technically, I’m cheating today, because these changes are in the related contracts, not the A201 itself, although A201 Section 8 discusses commencement & completion dates in general.  However, in the related contract documents (A101 Section 3; A102 Section 4; A103 Section 4), changes were made to encourage specificity.

There is now a check box that allows the parties to select as the Date of Commencement as one of the following:

(1) the date of the Agreement

(2) the issuance of a Notice to Proceed (NTP) by the Owner; or

(3) a different date as agreed to by the Parties.

If no box is checked, the default is the date of the Agreement.  The check box format is meant to clarify any confusion between the parties before the contract is inked.

For Substantial Completion, there is also a new check box to indicate whether such is obtained no later than a specified calendar date or within a certain number of days from commencement.  There is also a new section that addresses Substantial Completion of certain phases of the Work prior to full Completion.

Finally, a new section has been added to cross-reference the new liquidated damages fill point.

Tomorrow, change # 3 on the countdown, Termination for Convenience.

 

Photo (c) Steven Depolo via Creative Commons license.

 

Not so Universal Design Fails (guest post)

Posted on by

ADA ramp problems

Today we have a guest post from Carla Williams, who works in customer service for the Williams Brothers Corporation of America.   Carla humorously brings light to a serious problem– the intent behind ADA and Universal Design is very often not met with poorly-thought out applications in the real world.  Enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment for Carla below. 

Universal design is the idea that architecture should be inherently accessible to everyone. The growing number of architects adopting universal design is great news for people with accessibility needs. Instead of having separate entrances and walkways to make a building accessible, universal design allows people of all abilities to move together.

Unfortunately, many buildings are stuck back in 1990 right after the Americans with Disabilities Act was made law. These buildings may be technically “accessible,” but they aren’t spaces people with accessibility needs can maneuver very easily.  Until all building designers come to understand and implement the beauty and functionality of universal design, the world is left with less than ideal accessibility. “Less than ideal” is a bit of an understatement. Many times full-on “accessibility fails” take place.

We’ve taken the liberty of rounding up some of the most hilarious accessibility fails on the internet. These places are not only clueless about universal design, but they completely miss the whole accessibility thing by a long shot. Enjoy!

1.     A very useful ramp completely blocked by a giant flower pot. A very useful ramp indeed.

ADA ramp fail

Here we see a lack of understanding on the part of whoever dragged that flower pot out onto the ramp. Someone in a wheelchair might be able to use the ramp otherwise, but with the huge barrel of flowers sitting in the middle of it? Good luck trying to navigate around that thing into the building.

(Image source)

 

 

 

2.  The only requirement to use the ramp is the ability to climb stairs.

Ramp fail 3

Here is an example of something you may have thought impossible: a non-accessible accessible entrance. There is actually a ramp there, which is the accessible entrance into the building. The only problem is the ramp begins with a set of stairs. Stairs, according to the ADA and anyone with common sense, are non-accessible. So the ramp itself is non-accessible, making it a non-accessible accessible entrance.

(Image source)

 

 

3.     Sure, you can reach 8 feet away for toilet paper, right?

Toilet roll fail

This accessible stall is nice and wide for easy maneuvering. There is a great big spot to park your chair or walker, if that’s what you use. It’s just that the great big parking space is between you and the toilet paper once you are… situated. Let’s hope the owner of this building realizes the problem and bothers to install a TP dispenser anywhere within arm’s reach of the toilet like a considerate human being.

(Image source)

 

 

4.     Is this a wheelchair ramp or a roller coaster?Ramp roller coaster

That’s a very steep staircase and definitely not accessible, so it makes sense someone would see the need for an alternative entrance into the building. Maybe whoever installed it thought painting this “ramp” blue and slapping on an accessibility sign would make it useful to someone who needed an alternative to the stairs. The only problem is no one could even safely walk down this super slide, let alone take on the slope in a wheelchair.

(Image source)

 

 

 

 

5.     “Please ask at counter.” You know, the counter you can’t get to.

Ramp available ask at counter

Not all buildings were able or even required to meet ADA standards before 1990, and so the owners of these buildings try to accommodate their guests with accessibility needs in other ways. Yet in this case, despite good intentions, someone just wasn’t thinking it through. Great, you offer a ramp. A ramp which is only available at the counter… which is beyond the stairs. The stairs that someone with accessibility needs can’t ascend without a ramp.

(Image source)

 

 

Friends Don’t Let Friends Have Accessibility Fails

Cobbling together an accessibility solution is never as good as making a building permanently and sensibly accessible to all people. Even better, planning out a building with universal design in mind allows for better integration of accessibility needs while maintaining the design concept of a given space. Mandatory universal design would at least make ramps with stairs and stairwell superslides far less common.

Thanks Carla for your light-hearted, education post.  Thoughts/comments?  Have your own photo of an ADA or Universal Design fail?  Share below.