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About Us
Quick Links: Upcoming Events | Directions | Event Archives
Members of the Northwest Universal Design Council (NWUDC) seek to promote the incorporation of universal design principles, products, and processes that enable everyone, regardless of age or ability to “live actively by design.”
The Council serves as a forum to educate, discuss, plan, collaborate, and promote universal design into new built environments. All members serve on a volunteer basis. The NWUDC receives staff support from Aging and Disability Services—the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle-King County—and Age Friendly Seattle.
Our mission is to educate others so they can recognize, own, and promote good design for everyone. We will offer resources in such a way to illustrate options and empower people.
NWUDC Forums
Upcoming Events
- NWUDC Happy Hour (Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, from 5:30–7 p.m. at LightForm). Pre-registration requested. For details, click here.
For information about past events, see Event Archives below. More great events will be announced soon!
Note: Dates, times, and venues are subject to change. Current information will be posted on our News & Events page as it becomes available. Notices are also sent to subscribers of the NWUDC email list. For meeting archives, scroll down this page.
NWUDC Steering Committee
NWUDC Steering Committee meetings are typically held the first Tuesday of each month. They are currently held online and are open to all interested parties. If you would like to participate, e-mail info@environmentsforall.org for dates and other details.
Directions
- Driving:
- Seattle Municipal Tower: Google map (includes parking options)
- Seattle City Hall: Accessibility and Requests for Accommodations
- Public transit:
- Metro Trip Planner
- VetsGO (developed for veterans but usable by all)
- Pedestrian access:
- Downtown Seattle Accessible Map and Transit Guide (Metro Transit)
- AccessMap (Taskar Center, University of Washington)
- Pedestrians can take shortcuts between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue through Seattle City Hall (via elevator) or Columbia Center (via escalator or elevator). The Columbia Center and the Fifth Avenue Plaza share an underground pedestrian Concourse connected to the Seattle Municipal Tower. Ask for directions at either security desk.
Event Archives
- November 2, 2022: Age-Friendly Housing Forum: Where will Seattle’s Older Adults Live? at Seattle City Hall:
- Slidedeck [PENDING]
- Video | YouTube [PENDING]
- July 27, 2022: NWUDC Happy Hour at The Maxwell Hotel (300 Roy St, Seattle, WA 98109)
- February 27, 2020: “Universal Design & Pedestrian Wayfinding,” Seattle City Hall:
- Slidedecks: Welcome | Adrian Bell, Applied Wayfinding | Aditi Kambuj, Seattle Department of Transportation | Candace Toth, Sound Transit
- Video: Seattle Channel | YouTube (includes captions)
- May 30, 2019: “How to Plan an Accessible Event,” Seattle City Hall: Welcome slidedeck | Slidedeck white background | Slidedeck dark background | Event Photos | Seattle Channel | YouTube (captions) | Transcript
- November 7, 2018: “Remodeling for Aging in Place” featured presentations by realtor Tom Minty (John L. Scott), remodeler Paul Kocharhook (Pathway Design & Construction), and occupational therapist Gerry Cherney (Indeboom, LLC).
- Slidedecks: Minty | Kocharhook | Cherney
- Video: Seattle Channel | YouTube (includes captions)
- July 24, 2018: “Designing for Special Populations”:
- Seattle Channel video (full program)
- YouTube/Seattle Channel video (same program, includes CC)
- Challenges and Opportunities of Designing for the Formerly Unsheltered (Scott Starr, SMR Architects)
- Designing for Special Populations (Bill Singer and Christina Congdon, Environmental Works)
- May 31, 2018: “Assistive Technology Tools and Creative DIY Solutions to Support Older Adults and People With Disabilities” featured WATAP trainers who helped participants learn to match functional needs of older adults and people with disabilities to a wide range of assistive technologies and DIY solutions.
- June 19, 2017: “Last Mile Solutions: Improving Access to Healthcare” featured a panel presentation by Francois Larrivee, VP/Transportation, Hopelink; Cindy Zwart, Transportation Program Director, Sound Generations; and Amy Biggs, Director, Snoqualmie Valley Transportation.
- February 9, 2017: “Accessible Design Integration,” a presentation by Marthalee Galeota, access and disability manager at Starbucks Coffee Company, at Seattle AIA’s Center for Architecture & Design in conjunction with their exhibit called Open to All: Designing for the Full Range of Human Experience.
- November 15, 2016: “The Power of Inclusion: Universal Design in Landscape,” a presentation by Debra Guenther, FASLA, LEED AP BD+C (Mithun) and Karen Braitmayer, FAIA (Karen Braitmayer Accessible Design and Accessibility Consulting), a presentation discussed the role of landscape design in improving accessibility and “visitability” so that people of all abilities are fully able to participate in the indoor and outdoor environment.
- August 15, 2016: “Accessible Travel and Tourism” was designed for representatives of the hospitality industry and businesses that want to welcome tourists and business travelers with disabilities. Speakers included:
- Patt Copeland, Vision Loss Connections & Seattle Commission for People with disAbilities
- Steve Lewis, Alliance for People with Disabilities & Seattle Commission for People with disAbilities
- Peggy Martinez, Creative Inclusion
- Kimberly Parker, Hearing Loss Association of Washington & Lost in Sound
- Jim Parsons, Wheelchair Jimmy
- Michael Richardson, Northwest ADA Center
- Sheri Richardson, Vision Loss Connections & Guide Dog Users of Washington State
- Seattle Channel video coverage (1:51:26)
- Powerpoint:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), presented by Michael Richardson, MPA, Northwest ADA Center, slides 6–18
- Wheelchair Travel to Distant City, by Jim Parsons, WheelchairJimmy.com, slides 20–38
- Other materials: Transportation Hearing Access: An Immediate Need
- April 14, 2016: “Are Your Digital Communications Accessible?”—presented by Terrill Thompson, a technology accessibility specialist with the University of Washington, discussed why we need to and how to make websites, web-based software applications, online videos, and digital documents in Word, PDF, and other formats accessible to everyone.
- Seattle Channel video coverage: Are Your Digital Communications Accessible? (1:56:11) ***Recommended as a training video.***
- PDF: Are Your Digital Communications Accessible? (Terrill Thompson, Technology Accessibility Specialist, University of Washington)
- Powerpoint: https://staff.washington.edu/tft/
- Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART): Rough draft. Captioning was provided at the event in order to facilitate communication accessibility. This transcript may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
- January 14, 2016: “Designing an Accessible Pedestrian Network for All,” presented by Seattle Department of Transportation ADA coordinator Mike Shaw and design and construction engineers John Ricardi and Eugene Pike, covered challenges and solutions in developing a pedestrian network that works for all—sidewalks, curb ramps, street crossings, accessible pedestrian signals, transit access, and more—from a Universal Design perspective.
- Designing an Accessible Pedestrian Network for All (Mike Shaw, John Ricardi & Eugene Pike, Seattle Department of Transportation)
- October 7, 2015
- July 9, 2015
- April 9, 2015
- January 8, 2015
- The Beauty of Universal Design: Designing and building for people of all abilities (Molly Erin McCabe, AKBD, CGP, CAPS, A Kitchen That Works)
- November 20, 2014 Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens Coffee Hour
- A Chat About UD (Tom Minty, Northwest Universal Design Council)
- October 9, 2014
- Indeboom: Occupational Therapy Consulting for Aging-in-Place (Gerry Cherney, OTR/L, IndeBoom LLC)
- Falls Prevention: A Project with Russian/Ukrainian-speaking Older Adults (Karen Winston & Constantin Korff, Aging and Disability Services)
- Aging in Place: Little changes can make a big difference! (Graham Smith, Beverly’s Daughter)
- September 14, 2014 (Seattle Design Festival Workshop: Community Mobility & Universal Design)
- Welcome & Real Life Mobility Challenges (Tom Minty, Northwest Universal Design Council & Alex O’Reilly, King County Mobility Coalition)
- ADA Basics (Joy Jacobson, ADA Capital Projects Supervisor, City of Seattle)
- Principles of Universal Design (Scott Starr, SMR Architects)
- Creating Transportation Opportunities for All (Matthew Weidner, Accessible Services, King County Metro)
- Complete Streets in Seattle (Kevin O’Neill, Seattle Department of Transportation)
- Livable Transit Communities: TOD, Equity & Access (Cameron Duncan, Mobility Coordinator, Hopelink Transportation)
- July 10, 2014
- The Upside Risk of Aging In Place: How to Live Happily Ever After at Home (Aaron D. Murphy, AIA, CAPS, ADM Architecture, LLC)
- April 10, 2014
- Universal Design: Applications in Education (Dr. Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D., UW College of Education)
- Seattle 2035 (Patrice Carroll, Seattle 2035 project manager, Seattle Department of Planning and Development)
- January 9, 2014
- Building Industry Association of Washington (Jan Rohila, BIAW)
- Remodeling for Accessibility (Tim Dickey, Dickey’s Remodel & Repair and Accessible Living Concepts)
- October 10, 2013
- Nurturing Home or Nursing Home: Why is Universal Design such a hard sell? (Monika Weiss, AFriendlyHouse.com)
- Video: Age-ready home (21st Century Home, 6:43)
- July 11, 2013
- U.S. Access Board (Karen Braitmayer)
- April 11, 2013
- Yesler Terrace Redevelopment (Anne Fiske Zuniga and Tom Eanes, Seattle Housing Authority)
- Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Visualization (w/ audio)
- January 10, 2013
- The Economics of Design—Planning for the Age Wave (Tom Minty)
- The Affordable Care Act, Medicaid Expansion & Health Benefit Exchanges
- October 18, 2012
- No July 2012 Program
- April 12, 2012 The Built Environment
- January 12, 2012 Assistive Technology
- October 27, 2011
- July 21, 2011
- April 21, 2011
- February 17, 2011
- March 17, 2010
- February 17, 2010
- October 21, 2010
- July 15, 2010 – meeting cancelled
- April 15, 2010
- January 21, 2010
- October 15, 2009
- July 16, 2009
- April 16, 2009
- January 15, 2009
Subscribers to the NWUDC email list will receive announcements about Universal Design events. To subscribe, click here (GovDelivery).