Why don't we see more great accessible design? Possibly because many designers think of barrier-free access as a ramp rather than seeking a total design solution. Scissor ramps may provide adequate access for wheelchairs, but they can be physically and visually offensive and other alternatives are often overlooked.

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1991 requires universal access to public and commercial buildings. Barrier-free access is not only a requirement, it is a civil right which seeks to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability. The challenge is to consider the act an opportunity, rather than an emcum-brance, and seek design solutions which provide access without calling attention to the fact that the building is accessible.

The Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, in a recent competition to recog-nize outstanding examples of accessible design, selected work which Weinmayr Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects, had prepared for the Somerville Housing Authority. The awards program was designed to recognize creative and outstanding design solutions which were representative of quality design fully accessible to persons of all abilities. The Board felt that access solutions were often looked upon as stifling creativity, escalating construction costs-and generally unattractive. The award program sought to recognize examples of specific access solutions which were innovative, creative, aesthetically pleasing and convenient for everyone.

Faced with this challenge, Weinmayr Associates sought to provide universal access in their recently complete site design for the high density (215 unit) Mystic View public housing development located in Somerville, Massachusetts. The goal of the firm was to create not just great public housing, but great housing. In that vein, Weinmayr used only the highest quality materials throughout the site, including brick, wrought iron fencing, and cast iron bollards. The final product is a great place to live, indistinguishable from the local market housing.

When the client proposed creating concrete scissor ramps at each courtyard, Weinmayr suggested that the entire site be raised by a little over three feet using fill material available from on-site road construction. Working closely with the civil engineer, Weinmayr set the curb grade for an average slope of 3% to all front doors. Each major building entrance and several ground floor barrier-free apartments were made accessible from the entry courtyard without the use of ramps.

Each textured concrete courtyard is bounded along the street by a brick wall and along the building faced by a seat-height concrete wall. Each courtyard is identified at the street by a cast iron animal sculpture to add individuality to building entrances. Plantings include flowering trees, evergreen shrubs, hosta, day lillies and blue hydrangeas for long season color. Architects Bruner/Cott & Axssociates, Inc., of Cambridge, Massachu-setts, added stucco to brighten up the dreary brick "shoe boxes" and pitched roofs for long-term maintenance savings.

The Mystic View site continues to set the standard for budget conscious, high quality, function use of funds in the public domain. LASN