By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

Whether the structure is a new public building that will be visited by scores of tourists, or a private home lived in by a few, an increasingly common attribute these buildings share is that their designers, and in some cases, remodelers, have incorporated universal design elements into the structures.

According to experts like Richard Duncan, senior project manager for North Carolina State University’s Center for Universal Design, the awareness of the need to create habitable spaces that are barrier-free has been driven by federal civil rights legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The ADA mandates that all public spaces built or significantly renovated since its enactment in the early 1990s be made accessible to individuals with disabilities.

But a much bigger factor in the growth of universal design in recent years is the desire of members of the baby boomer generation to age-in-place and live in their own homes as long as possible.

“The disability movement pushed the envelope and got us all to realize that there are simply easier ways to move through our lives,” said Duncan. “What’s happening now is we’re seeing a growing awareness in Charleston and other communities across the country that we’re all going to need help with accessibility at some point.”

A local expert on that subject is Peter M. Loy, a one-time staff member with the Charleston County assessor’s office who today is president of Citadel Enterprises Inc., a Mount Pleasant-based remodeling firm.

The primary focus of Loy’s business, which he started in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, is full-service residential remodeling, including kitchens, baths, structural repairs, porches and additions.

But as he took on jobs and his business grew to 14 employees, he noticed a growing trend among his customers: they were looking to make aesthetic changes to their homes, and they were looking for ways to make their homes more livable for the long term.

“I was aware of the ADA and its associated accessibility guidelines as a result of the commercial projects we have done over the years, but this was clearly something different,” Loy said. “People weren’t looking to apply the ADA framework to their homes; instead, what they wanted was to make their environments more practical from the perspective of usability.

“While the ADA applies only to people with disabilities, the concepts of universal design apply to the accessibility of everybody,” he said.

A firm believer in continuing education, Loy enrolled in a specialized universal design course created by the Remodelors Council of the National Association of Home Builders, in collaboration with the NAHB Research Center, NAHB Seniors Housing Council and the American Association of Retired Persons.

Now one of 10 certified aging-in-place specialists in the state, Loy said about 10% of his business involves serving the “aging” market.

“The vast majority of our jobs range from $5,000 to half a million, but I think there clearly is a need—and a market—for universal design services. In fact, even on some of our other jobs, we’ll make suggestions to the customer about what aging-in-place changes they may want to make down the road and even do a few small modifications in the course of our other work, if they’re so inclined.

Duncan, who visited Charleston two years ago to tour a number of homes and buildings in the area, said he also has found the growth of universal design is a consumer driven issue.

“The embracing of this design principle really is a function of awareness, knowledge and will,” he said. “First, you have to acknowledge that you will get older and function less fluidly than you do today. Secondly, you have to know what your options are and be willing to make the financial investment.

“The key, I think, is to think long and hard about the functionality of the spaces we occupy and to catch the subtle demands on a space, as well as the larger or more obvious ones.”

Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.

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