Review Period
Ends April 4
The National Institute of Building Sciences Low
Vision Design Committee (LVDC) has released a draft of Design Guidelines for
the Visual Environment for public review and comment. The 60-day review
period closes April 4.
The first of its kind in the United States, the
Guidelines will provide assistance to design professionals and others
in accommodating a growing segment of the population who live with the spectrum
of vision disorders contributing to low vision. All stakeholders are invited to
provide comments on the document.
The Guidelines address planning and
design of a building and facility site, including features used to access the
building or facility, such as walkways and pathways, stairs and ramps; interior
spaces, including finish materials and fixed and moveable furniture; and
lighting design, including the use of daylighting and electrical lighting. It
contains chapters on general design principles; site and landscape design; and
architecture, interior and lighting design.
"Through the Institute’s process of public
review, the Low Vision Design Committee expects to be able to refine the
Design Guidelines for the Visual Environment before its official public
release for use by designers,” said James E. Woods, PhD, PE, the committee’s
chairperson. "We encourage everyone to make comments, suggestions and edits to
the draft. We also hope that reviewers will be able to contribute supporting
information, such as published data, to help us validate the accuracy of the
content.”
The Guidelines were developed by the
LVDC with generous support from the Hulda B. and Maurice Rothschild Foundation
and the James H. McClung Lighting Research Foundation.
Persons interested in reviewing the
Guidelines can obtain a copy on the Institute’s website.
Please submit comments by using the "Track Changes” function in Word, marking up
the draft or providing other written forms of comments to Stephanie
Stubbs on or before April 4, 2014.