August 17, 2007
  Paralyzed Veterans of America Honors Chicago-based Access Living for Accessible Design
Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, a disability advocacy group in Chicago staffed mainly by people with disabilities, was awarded the 2007 Barrier-Free America Award by the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). Jack H. Catlin, FAIA, partner in Chicago-based LCM Architects, and Marca Bristo, president and CEO of Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, both wheelchair users, received the award August 1 at an Access Living ceremony in Chicago. The four-story, 44,000-square-foot urban Access Living headquarters combines unique accessibility accommodations with universal, commercial, and green design. Its sustainable elements are designed to meet the criteria for LEED® Silver certification.

Top Shelf Amenities from the Bottom Up
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects make the Woolworth Building tower shine again, but still in Cass Gilbert’s image. GKV’s renovation of the Woolworth Building tower is an attempt to lure small, boutique businesses to Lower Manhattan with unprecedented levels of service and comfort. The design adds news functions and features while still staying true to Cass Gilbert’s original design.

Creating an Open Climate for Communication
In an open communication climate, employees feel free to express opinions, voice complaints, and offer suggestions. This freedom of expression is fundamental to creativity and innovation. Creating such a climate where employees feel free to speak their minds can be a daunting task. But it is well worth the effort, as the end results are better teamwork; enhanced work relationships; and increased job satisfaction, innovation, and creativity, as Daisy Saunders, the founder of Big Eyes International, explains.

 

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This is the home of the weekly Best Practices column, news of tips and tools that you can use in your day-to-day practice and case studies illustrating “how-tos” and “lessons learned” for all stages of practice. The Practice Zone also features reports of research in architecture and related fields.