| The renovation of three laboratories to include
height-adjustable workstations, set inside a walk-in
fume hood, was a lab industry first, and its award-winning
design continues to enable students with disabilities
to study science. This project was invention, pure and
simple, with every detail of the workstation requiring
study and design and technical excellence. To reduce
barriers at the University of California, Ms. Blake-Drucker’s
objective was to create an accessible workstation exactly
like everyone else’s, consistent with her career-long
advocacy that the Americans with Disabilities Act is
civil rights legislation.
A laboratory typically serves multiple classes every
day, and Ms. Blake-Drucker sought to create a station
whose height could be quickly and easily adjusted between
classes – without help from maintenance staff.
Her invention enables students with disabilities to
study science at a workstation that is exactly the same
as all other chemistry students have. In the process,
she has created a safer and more comfortable station
for the able-bodied of all sizes, as well. Working persistently
to secure code approval, Ms. Blake-Drucker designed
a flexible sink connection and air-directing baffles
within the hood that adjust with the table height. Safety
features go beyond the norm. Controls are not just operable
with less than five pounds of pressure, as the code
requires, but are also equipped with Braille tags. Dangerous
steam controls are treated with carborundum to provide
tactile warning.
Awards
National Endowment for the Arts: Excellence in Universal
Design Award, 1998
National Endowment for the Arts:
Exemplar designation,
1998-present
Client: Department of Chemistry,
UC Berkeley
Project Manager: Jeff Gee/Maryann Hiserman
Budget: $65,000
building
materials
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