21 Individuals, Organizations & Governments Win Universal Design Awards

January 6, 2005 - BOSTON, MA - Adaptive Environments, the Boston based, international nonprofit organi-zation dedicated to researching, gathering and promoting the most current ideas and information on Human-Centered Design from around the world, has just held its third very successful international Conference on Universal Design in Rio de Janeiro.

Called "Designing for the 21st Century III," this extraordinary conference brought together over 350 thought leaders from more than 30 nations to exchange knowledge, best practices and the latest advances on Human-Centered/Universal Design. Focused on the user experience, participants representing many of the world's leading organizations, academic institutions, governments and corporations convened to share exciting new information, explore the best ways to move the Universal Design agenda forward and to help establish international goals for the coming years.

"We are thrilled with the incredible array of leaders from around the world who attended this year's interna-tional conference," says Valerie Fletcher, Conference Co-Chair and Executive Director of the confer-ence convener, Adaptive Environments. "Never before have we had such a diverse and influential group of people so willing to share their wisdom and their experiences. All of us at Adaptive Environments are especially pleased that this conference provided a remarkable opportunity to recognize many of the people and organizations who have led the way for Human-Centered/Universal Design advances throughout the past 25 years."

This year, Adaptive Environments was honored to present the 2004 Ron Mace Designing for the 21st Century Awards - named in memory of the "father" of Universal Design - to 21 deserving individuals and organizations who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of Human-Centered/Universal Design.

The 2004 Ron Mace Designing for the 21st Century Award recipients:

Leslie Young
Director of Design at the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University
Ms. Young was a key collaborative partner with Ron Mace beginning in the 1970s and has made substantial contributions to both universal design's literature and multi-media resources.

Marcelo P. Guimaraes
Professor of Architecture at the UFMG, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil and Director of ADAPTSE Laboratory for Design Research, Education & Outreach as related to an Inclusive Society
Professor Guimaraes introduced universal design to Brasil in 1991 and mounted a national campaign pro-moting a priority on accessibility and universal design to design and construction professionals.

The Center for Universal Design
College of Design at North Carolina State University
The Center was founded by Ron Mace in 1989 as the Center for Accessible Housing that became the Center for Universal Design in 1994. The Center has been an invaluable information source for the US and international movements.

Ed Steinfeld
Professor of Architecture and Founder and Director of the Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) Center in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo
For over 30 years Mr. Steinfeld has been a key engine driving the knowledge behind accessible design practice and teaching. His contribution to both vision and knowledge are unrivalled.

Hubert Froyen
Professor of Architecture and initiator of the Belgian Universal Design Education Project
Mr. Froyen has exhibited leadership in his outstanding contributions to the European Institute on Design and Disability (EIDD) and to the evolving vision of the Council of Europe toward an EU-wide curriculum for the occupations working on the built environment.

The Institute Of Design And Disability (IDD) in Ireland
The Institute is honored for its successful convening and conducting of the Barcelona Project that brought together 97 local governments committed to inclusive practices in policies, services and the built environ-ment. It was the highest success rate of any European nation.

Ricardo Gomes
Chair, Design and Industry Department, San Francisco State University, Chairperson for the 2004 Student Design Competition at the Designing for the 21st Century III Conference
Mr. Gomes has demonstrated unmatched leadership and inspiration in promoting universal design to multi-cultural communities and the majority world.

International Association For Universal Design (IAUD), Japan
IAUD was founded in 2002 following the international universal design conference in Yokahama and has achieved a stunning level of participation from the highest levels of society. Prince Tomohito is their Patron and 145 of the world's most successful corporations are active members of IAUD, creating an extraordinary and unrivalled stimulus to mainstreaming universal design.

Inclusive Design And Environmental Access (IDEA) Center
School of Architecture, University of Buffalo at the State University of New York
Since 1984, IDEA has generated a substantial portion of the knowledge base underlying the practice and teaching of accessible and universal design worldwide.

Sen Inc., and Principals Miyake Yoshisuke and Fusayo Asano
Sen Inc. has been a leader in setting exceptional standards and guidelines for Universal Landscape Design for the extraordinary caliber of their firm's work and generous commitment to disseminating their knowledge.

Jim Mueller
Chairperson, Industrial Design Society of America, Universal Design Professional Interest Section
Mr. Mueller has sustained an extraordinarily productive, influential and generous commitment to universal design for over 20 years, steadily adding fresh insights and tools of practice to the field.

Francesc Aragall
President of the Design For All Foundation, based in Barcelona
Mr. Aragall successfully initiated European-wide movements that are systematically leading to a more inclu-sive society. His unique leadership in both government and business initiatives demonstrates both his keen commitment and understanding of the importance of integrating design-for-all into stable infrastructure.

The Norwegian Government
Led by the Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Norwegian Government has initiated and sustained an unprecedented and still unmatched national systems approach to Universal Design and have generously shared their strategies and reflections with the world community.

Singanapalli Balaram
Principal Designer and Senior Professor at the National Institute of Design and the Head of the Interdisciplinary Design Studies and Chairperson of Knowledge Management Centre, India
Mr. Balaram continues to use his insight and passion to promote inclusive design as a pertinent and valu-able framework for design in the majority nations where he challenges majority world designers to avoid the short-sightedness of the industrialized nations.

Centro De Vida Independente Do Rio De Janeiro (CVI-Rio)
CVI-Rio was the first independent living center in Latin America to embrace design as a key to social inclusion from its earliest years and its countless contributions to both public education and inclusiveurban design.

Jorge Falcato Simoes
Architect, Lisbon, Portugal
Mr. Simoes is honored for his twenty years of advocacy and commitment to strategic partnerships through-out the City of Lisbon and for his contributions toward promoting and educating about the state of the art of universal design at the urban scale.

Andrew Walker
Architect and founder of the Environmental Access Program at the Architectural Association in London and is currently access consultant to the City of London
Mr. Walker is an outspoken critic of bad and disabling design for his unyielding design advocacy, commit-ment to the vital role of user/experts and his savvy contribution to inclusive design in historic buildings.

Schindler Elevators
Schindler Elevators is the world's leader in manufacturing vertical and horizontal access, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Switzerland that created and generously supported a groundbreaking student design competition in 2004 with a call to 79 EU schools of architecture to submit designs reflective of Design for All that attracted 497 entrants from 72 schools.

The Once Foundation
An initiative of ONCE, the Spanish Organization for the Blind
The Foundations helps procure employment for people with disabilities and has to date achieved accessibility in 53,000 workplaces and improved accessibility in cities, transport and new technology with an investment of 350 million euros.

Edison Passafaro
Ex. Director, Comissao Permanente de Acessibilidade, Municipal Government, Sao Paulo, Brazil Through his extraordinary leadership, Mr. Passafaro has created a national model of an empowered munici-pal agency with responsibility for promoting and implementing universal design at the urban scale for the largest city in Latin America.

Leslie Kanes Weisman
Professor and former Associate Dean, School of Architecture at New Jersey Institute of Technology
Ms. Weisman is one of the world's most foremost educator and spokesperson for universal design and a leader in articulating the connection between universal design and other social justice movements.

Adaptive Environments (AE) is a Boston based, international nonprofit organization dedicated to researching, gathering and promoting the most current ideas and information on Human-Centered/Universal Design from around the world. Starting with insight from "user/experts" and anticipating the range of individual differences, AE explores innovative design solutions that enhance the experiences of people of all ages and abilities. AE's projects and initiatives balance expertise in formal requirements for accessibility with best practices in Human-Centered/Universal Design. AE is the convener of the Designing for the 21st Century International Conferences on Universal Design and is home to The Institute for Human-Centered Design.

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