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Joe Wykowski thinks more buildings should be designed with the disabled in mind, an approach he says would end up benefiting everyone.

He offers as an example, the new four-story, $6.5-million building that a nonprofit called Community Vision is planning at 1949 S.E Division St.

Wykowski founded the Portland organization in 1989 to help disabled people live independently through individualized housing, supported living, meaningful employment and home ownership services.

He has been working closely with architect Bill Bailey of Waterleaf Architecture and Marci Krauss of Marci Krauss Interior Design to make sure the features of Community Vision’s new building will provide safety and functionality for the nonprofit’s clients.

Some of those features, such as wider than usual hallways to accommodate mobility devices and rounded corners to minimize injury in the case of collisions, are obvious. Others are more subtle.

Light switches, for example, are designed so that a person with only thumb movement can operate them with a remote switch.

As for the call buttons for the elevator, they’re located in ground-level wall pads. People in wheels chairs can bump the pads to call an elevator instead of struggling to press a button that’s out of reach.

The building also has back-up evacuation plans that include a special hydraulic device to help disabled people get down stairs if the elevator isn’t working or in an emergency, such as a fire.

鈥淚t’s sort of a mix between a stair elevator and a toboggan,鈥� Wykowski said. 鈥淵ou can strap someone in it, but you have a counterweight and someone helping the person and it slides down the stairs.鈥�

Years ago, architectural standards for the disabled were mostly based on the needs of war veterans who still had use of their arms. But that model no longer fits everyone with disabilities.

鈥淒ifferent people have different needs, and when you’re looking at things like towel dispensers and blowers, you have to figure out how they work for people who don’t have enough movement,鈥� Wykowski said.

The Community Vision building will feature a high-tech kitchen with demonstration appliances that are designed to meet disabled people’s needs. It also will have an assisted technology lab on the first floor where people can learn about new technology, such as augmented communication devices for those whose disabilities have left them non-communicative.

When聽 it comes to buildings, Wykowski thinks developers usually meet only the minimum requirements of the American Disabilities Act.

鈥淧eople think it’s (disabled accessible) if they just make the bathrooms accessible and the front door wider,鈥� he said

For Community Vision’s new building, Wykowski, Bailey and Krauss worked closely together to ensure the interior and exterior design elements went beyond the basics. Their efforts were spurred by the shared belief that more buildings should incorporate design standards for disabled people as regular practice because it will contribute to everyone’s overall safety.

鈥淢ost of this is good for everyone because we all get older and lose some of our mobility, so we have to think on the creative side,鈥� Wykowski said.

Something as simple as a building’s interior color scheme, for example, can make a big difference for people with disabilities. The floors of the Community Vision building will feature different colors and textures to aid those with diminished sight, Wykowski said.

Bailey also would like to see more buildings incorporate a larger number of design ideas that help people with disabilities. His desire isn’t just driven by his profession.

鈥淎s the father of a disabled adult myself, I have an appreciation for the barriers that are there,鈥� he said.

For example, a large percentage of the population has some level of sight disability, Bailey said, and designers can accommodate them through simple techniques.

鈥淭here are graphic ways, like with carpet borders and wall accent colors, that can either be confusing or can clarify the pathway to go down,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s beyond signage. It’s making sure that there’s a contrast between light and dark, for example.鈥�

Bailey works on a lot of historic restorations, which he says can be a challenge when it comes to making them ADA-compatible. But for him, it’s an issue of equal rights for everyone. Those handicapped ramps seen on public buildings? Bailey thinks they should always be at the front of a building, not in the back.

鈥淚t really is a civil rights issue,鈥� he said, 鈥渨hether the disabled are being treated the same as the able-bodied are.鈥�