There is a moral responsibility, rooted in basic civil rights, to make buildings and elements accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. This includes persons with the inability to walk, difficulty walking, reliance on walking aids, blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hearing impairment, incoordination, reaching and manipulation disabilities, lack of stamina, difficulty interpreting sensory information, and extremes of physical size. It is also the law to provide accessibility, regulated at the federal level through the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
The American National Standard ICC A117.1-2017 – Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities coordinates between this regulation and its own provisions for accessibility in buildings.
What is Covered by ANSI A117.1-2017?
In addition to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, the ICC A117.1-2017 standard (also known as ANSI A117.1) is consistent with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines. Furthermore, as a publication by the International Code Council (ICC), the standard is compatible with the building code. Alignment with the building code is part of a continuous effort by the Accredited Standards Committee A117 on Architectural Features and Site Design of Public Buildings and Residential Structures for Persons with Disabilities, who approved the 2017 version of this standard, interestingly marking the 30th anniversary of the ICC as Secretariat.
ICC A117.1-2017, simply put, offers technical criteria for making sites, facilities, buildings, and related elements accessible. However, the ways in which these concerns are addressed is incredibly thorough, in a comprehensive approach to the many accessibility considerations that one must examine when constructing a new building. For example, the document, while using the aid of clear figures that visualize dimensions, specifies appropriate clearance, protruding objects, reach ranges, and acceptable routes, among many other interests for an administrative authority to provide scoping provisions.
The ICC A117.1-2017 standard is intended to be adopted by government agencies, as well as organizations setting model codes to achieve uniformity in the technical design criteria in building codes and other regulations.
Changes to ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017
As the latest revision of the standard for accessible and usable buildings and facilities, ICC A117.1-2017 has undergone several changes that differentiate it from the previous editions. Many of these serve to expand the reach of the document and address the problems or needs that arose during the revision process. Notable alterations to the standard revision include the addition of:
- Enhanced dimensions for clear floor spaces and turning spaces, introduced in response to technical data on the space needed by persons using scooters and some types of motorized wheelchairs and applicable only to new buildings and facilities
- Exterior routes
- Curb cuts
- Blended transitions
- Clarity for detectable warnings
- Passenger drop offs and parking requirements coordinated with the Public Rights of Way Guidelines
- Acoustic standards for classrooms
- Features allowing for better communication for persons using sign language
- Provisions that address the recharging of wheelchairs in hotels
- Access to gaming machines and tables
- Provisions for water bottle filling stations
There is also an errata document to this standard, ICC A117.1-2017: Errata – Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, which you can download free from the ANSI Webstore.
ICC A117.1-2017 – Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities is available on the ANSI Webstore.