“I think it looks really beautiful," said Frank Wu, the president of Court Square Civic Association, a group in Long Island City that tries to encourage smart development. [...]
“There are a ton of stairs but only a single elevator,” he said, adding that accessibility has long been an issue in Long Island City, which has seen the number of young families with strollers balloon in recent years.
— Gothamist
A much-lauded new library in New York City's Long Island City district designed by Steven Holl Architects might have serious shortcomings when it comes to accessibility and universal design.
As patrons have flocked to the library, it has been discovered that certain areas are less accessible than others, including the library's fiction aisles, which are set along multiple tiered levels that are only accessible via stairs.
Joe Bachner, a resident who visited the library, told Gothamist, "If you can’t walk, you can’t go through that area."
In order to overcome this situation, Gothamist reports, librarians are available to go up and select books for library patrons, as necessary.
A library whose physical design keeps patrons away from the books...was there a librarian on the client committee? Aesthetics defeated the basic brief, here. And staff willing to bring you books is a band-aid...browsing at one's own whim is one of the joys of using a library.
A young client of mine (early 30's) recently stepped in a mole hole and broke his leg. He's walking again, and is now a HUGE proponent of accessible design. I had a similar experience in my twenties. I rather wish it on everyone, and particularly every designer...you become incredibly aware of WHY the standards are the way they are, and how many built spaces there are that were clearly not designed for you.
Given that all of us awarded the privilege of aging will probably use assistance by a cane or a wheel or a door that isn't too stiff to pull open...we can look forward to such exclusions again! If you can't make a pretty building without rubbing the assumption that "climbing stairs are easy" in the face of a sizable part of the population, especially a PUBLIC building...this foolishness doesn't help architecture improve its image.
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Think there is a large difference between buildings that are all stairs (the worst offender being the vessel), and buildings that try to accommodate both in different ways. If there is a basic accessibility problem, that is another issue.
Yes, you want to accommodate strollers and wheelchairs, which is why there is an elevator. Is it ideal? No. My suspicion is the handicapped and stroller people are happy to use the elevator here and don't care as much as the commentators and PC police pretend to.
Perhaps the next step will be a movement to "ban stairs." Which is part and parcel with our current culture of designing for the lowest common denominator. Then we can tear down the original NYPL grand stairways and entranceway too.
There are (very expensive) wheelchairs available that can traverse stairs. It may be cheaper to provide those to all who need them rather than re-make the whole world so there are no level changes greater than 1/4". Stroller people just need to suck it up and deal with it.
you have obviously never been a parent trying to maneuver a public building with a stroller before. public libraries need to be designed for everyone, and no group should have to "suck it up and deal with it."
A library whose physical design keeps patrons away from the books...was there a librarian on the client committee? Aesthetics defeated the basic brief, here. And staff willing to bring you books is a band-aid...browsing at one's own whim is one of the joys of using a library.
A young client of mine (early 30's) recently stepped in a mole hole and broke his leg. He's walking again, and is now a HUGE proponent of accessible design. I had a similar experience in my twenties. I rather wish it on everyone, and particularly every designer...you become incredibly aware of WHY the standards are the way they are, and how many built spaces there are that were clearly not designed for you.
Given that all of us awarded the privilege of aging will probably use assistance by a cane or a wheel or a door that isn't too stiff to pull open...we can look forward to such exclusions again! If you can't make a pretty building without rubbing the assumption that "climbing stairs are easy" in the face of a sizable part of the population, especially a PUBLIC building...this foolishness doesn't help architecture improve its image.
exactly. ^
this kind of thinking is just gross negligence. life happens and not all of it is meant for everyone all the time, that's what makes it's interesting. we can not design to the lowest common denominator constantly. Universal design is a misnomer, its all bullshit for lawyers to make money off of. ADA lawsuits are a racket based on your ignorance in ethics.
"lowest common denominator" nice one.
yes the lowest common denominator in a stair climbing library is the person who can't climb them.
you know how foocking stoopid that sounds?
Do you even get it?
Do you understand what is going on here?
beta, save me your religion, Jesus was cool, but this is bullshit, democracy isn't about the minority, it's about the majority...if we are going to be mathematical and logical.
I'm an old fart, now, I take my stand.
Shut up, you pedantic tool. This is a fooking pooblic libary, clown. Paid by people that are both, abled and disabled. Numbnuts.
Ah, the tyranny of the majority. Loved by autocrats and technocrats alike. Isn't is beautiful how mutual disdain can bring people together?
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-10-07/domino-s-rejected-by-supreme-court-on-blind-man-s-website-suit?__twitter_impression=true
Somebody please explain exactly what is “lovely” about this design.
What Miles said.
oh fuck all of you! really. this is what we talk about.
What an enlightened comment, please share more of your wisdom.
HA, you seem nice. I hope you die before your body betrays you.
will this help or hurt Holl's odds for a pritzker prize then?
The Pritzker is not ADA compliant.
the building is accessible. the problem is that wheelchair people want everything to be designed for them. let’s focus on things that actually aren’t accessible like subways and buildings with no elevators. Jesus.... people are losing their minds
Yeah, we should definitely tell the disabled to fuck right off and then continue using our vaunted technology for the abled.
The fiction section in a public library does not fall under the allowed exceptions of the NYC accessibility code.
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