Accessible Landscape Project

The Department of Facilities & Service Enterprises is pleased to announce the selection of its Accessible Landscape Project as a winner of APPA's Award for "Effective & Innovative Practices".

To earn this recognition, the project demonstrated innovative and original institutional practices which built on the input, support and involvement of management, faculty, staff and students. In addition, the project must demonstrate sustainable values, and be adaptable for implementation elsewhere.

The Accessible Landscape Project was initiated in the early 1990's, to create user-friendly landscapes that demonstrate inclusiveness by seeking solutions which meet the needs of the widest possible visitor population. Methods for enhancing the functionality of our space have included: eliminating stairways in favor of gently sloping pathways that are always the primary, rather than secondary path; designing and installing revolutionary new outdoor furniture that provides more flexibility than the usual fixed seating and table heights; and introducing audible wayfinding cues at key locations around campus.

The Accessible Landscape Project also provides an umbrella under which the Department of Facilities & Service Enterprises has partnered with faculty and students from the departments of Design & Industry, Art, Engineering, Broadcasting, and Special Education, along with staff from the Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC), to produce creative solutions to old problems. The curriculum of participating Colleges has been enriched by the introduction of Accessible Landscape into classroom discussions and projects. Students involved in the project have been invited to participate in international design conferences and to publish results of the Accessible Landscape Project in conference proceedings in England and universal design publications as far away as India.

The project is ongoing. Visit our site again!