IDEA Center celebrates 40 years of inclusive design, transition of leadership

For 40 years, UB’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access has been leading global efforts to create a safe, inclusive and empowering world for all. Its founder and director, Edward Steinfeld, has been working in this space for even longer.

As it celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall, the IDEA Center, which is housed within the School of Architecture and Planning, is celebrating its achievements and legacy while embarking upon a transition in leadership.

Steinfeld, a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Architecture and leader in the field of inclusive design for 50 years, is stepping down as director — a role he has held since creating the center in 1984 — and Jordana Maisel, the center’s current director of research and an associate professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, begins her tenure as director.

“We’re so grateful to Ed for the incredible legacy of, and commitment to, inclusive design that he brought to our school,” says Julia Czerniak, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. “As we usher in the next chapter of leadership of the IDEA Center, I am confident that Jordana’s passion, research interests and commitment to community will allow her to continue building on this momentum of innovation and discovery. The future of the IDEA Center is bright.”

Since its formation four decades ago, the IDEA Center has served as a globally recognized center of excellence committed to creating and implementing inclusive design policies, practices, environments and products.

The center defines universal design as “a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation.”

The center’s many projects include writing “Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments” (Wiley and Sons Inc., 2012), the first comprehensive textbook on universal design, which has been cited nearly 1,000 times; establishing a database on the size and abilities of more than 500 wheeled mobility device users, which is available to standards-setting organizations looking to keep their standards current; interactive touch models of buildings (including the Smithsonian); and optimizing accessible public transportation.

Innovation Solutions for Universal Design (isUDä) — the IDEA Center’s most recent initiative — is a certification program that supports the adoption and recognition of universal design in architecture. The program has been adopted by museums, religious buildings, an airport, playgrounds and a hotel.

Steinfeld, who is retiring at the end of the fall semester, has been a trailblazer in the field of inclusive design since the 1970s, when he led a transformational research project that established the first evidence base for accessibility standards in the U.S.

He was among the co-authors of the “Principles of Universal Design” in the mid-1990s, which first defined the concept. Much of Steinfeld’s work has been devoted to championing design for diversity and inclusion, with a focus on disability, aging and gender identity.

In the spring, Steinfeld was elevated to the American Institute of Architects’ prestigious College of Fellows (along with fellow UB architecture faculty member Joyce Hwang) in recognition of his immense contributions to the profession.

“His lifelong commitment to helping people maintain their independence and fulfill their life’s aspirations has made him legendary in the disability community,” Victor Regnier, a professor of both architecture and gerontology at the University of Southern California who has known Steinfeld for 50 years, wrote in his College of Fellows nomination letter for Steinfeld. “He has done more to provide a rational basis for architects to make decisions related to access for people with disabilities than any other architect in this field,” Regnier added.

Steinfeld has been principal investigator or co-PI on more than 30 major sponsored projects, and has received more than 150 invitations to speak at professional conferences and other events.

Early in his career, Steinfeld directed the research and development of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard — then known as ANSI A117.1 — that provides technical criteria for making buildings accessible. This became the foundation for accessibility regulations thereafter, including the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Accessibility Standards and the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines.

His work over the decades has included advising the New York City Housing Authority, leading research studies on home adaptations, and providing expert consulting to architects, developers and attorneys on compliance with accessibility regulations and safety. Through his teaching, he has contributed to the advancement of architectural education through innovative curriculum development and instruction, and is a highly sought thesis and dissertation adviser.

Maisel began working at the IDEA Center as a graduate assistant in 2002, when she returned to Buffalo, her hometown, to get her master’s in urban planning from UB; she also received her PhD in industrial and systems engineering at UB. In 2004, she became a full-time employee, first as the center’s director of outreach and policy studies and then director of research.

Maisel works at the intersection of research, teaching and practice. Her research focuses on examining, and improving through inclusive design, the relationship between the built environment and the physical, social and psychological well-being of marginalized populations.

She co-directs the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) grant on Universal Design and the Built Environment from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), and is a co-PI on another recently funded NIDILRR project that examines and addresses the impacts of climate change on people with disabilities.

Over her 20 years with the IDEA Center, Maisel has been awarded numerous sponsored research projects from various federal agencies, as well as local efforts, and has written key publications in the field of inclusive design that are frequently cited. She co-authored the “Goals of Universal Design” (2012); “Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments (2012); “Accessible Public Transportation” (2018); and “Inclusive Design: Implementation and Evaluation” (2018).

“I am both honored and excited to step into the role of director at the IDEA Center, following in the footsteps of Ed Steinfeld, whose visionary leadership has laid such a strong foundation for the work we do,” says Maisel.

“As I take on this responsibility, I am deeply committed to honoring the legacy of our past while also embracing the opportunity to chart new paths for growth and innovation. I look forward to building on our successes, exploring new projects and fostering collaborations that will propel us forward as we continue to create impactful, inclusive and transformative environments for all.”