A Universal Design Project: Wally Dutcher--A leader to be followed and missed and never forgotten.

Sunday 17 July 2016

Wally Dutcher--A leader to be followed and missed and never forgotten.

When I called to talk with him this past Thursday about a project we were working on together I got sick to my stomach when I heard another voice on his answering machine. It was on the return call from his daughter that my fears were realized. I lost a great mentor and the world lost a leader.

I had met Wally when he reached out to me because of this website back in 2014 just as I was finishing up my studies on Universal Design with the IDeA program. Meeting him this way was very ironic because he lived most of his adult life in St. Petersburg and not far from where I used to live in St. Pete before returning to St. Louis. From that point on, we talked on the phone and emailed back and forth regularly and he was very generous with his time and suggestions on positive ways to overcome obstacles, whether in a drawing or the type that can't be seen but heard and felt. He was a creative problem solver and this became evident to me in the accomplishments he shared with me via email and from my visits to see him.

He was an artistic spirit who did not let a debilitating injury in the prime of his life stop him from living. He found creative ways to do not just what he needed to do to exist as a human being but what he wanted to do as a living and vibrant person. He had a great passion for life, the arts and helping others and he was a tireless promoter of freedom and access for all. He and his wife raised a beautiful daughter and lived in a gorgeous home that he designed on an intracoastal waterway; it was filled with a great collection of art, family memories and accomplishments of the full life he lived as a man with quadriplegia.

I will forever be sad my daughter Mia never got to meet Wally because she could have learned from him too. I do thank her for the fact that I met him because this AUDP project only came to fruition because of her. Thank you, Mia and thank you,Wally! I am going to continue to share with others what you have shared with me.

http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/sptimes/obituary.aspx?n&pid=180700844&referrer=0&preview=True

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About AUDP:

A Universal Design Project was established to help lead a shift in construction and rehab to a more universal standard in order to meet the diverse needs of the general population.

Based in St. Louis, MO, our focus is inspiring thoughtful construction or reconstruction of real property to appeal to a multi-demographic. We advise on how to re-purpose outdated houses and buildings as a means to minimize the environmental impact of construction while adding social and economic value and extending the useful life of otherwise functionally obsolete properties.

Advising and educating about UD as a crucial element of the planning process helps maximize the value of a project's functional life and minimize costs spent on expensive retrofits brought on by poor planning.

Universal Design is the key to a more economically and efficiently run society and this statement is backed up my personal and professional observations. I have been working in real estate since 2003 and I am motivated by my life as a parent raising my daughter Mia who was born with a spinal cord injury and relies on a walker, wheelchair and canes to navigate life. On a daily basis, my work in real estate shows me the lack and my life with Mia illustrates the need. I live this, so my objective with this project is sharing the knowledge gained in both roles and through my studies of universal design with a goal of making life easier for people to live fully functioning lives that allow them to thrive and not just exist, in their homes and beyond.

It remains my hope these efforts will inspire others to work toward the same. It's a big world out there and we have got to work together on this enormous task to make it a truly universal success story.

Respectfully,

Amy Barnes

Universal design makes living easier for EVERYONE.

Universal Design, also knows as Inclusive Design or Design for All, is more than an industry buzz term or the latest fad in residential design and construction. It is smart design.

In layman's terms, it's style meeting accessibility. At it's core, it's a baseline of human centered design principles to be followed with thoughtfulness and creativity during the planning process before a project's construction phase begins.

Applied universal design allows efficient and effective use of time, energy and resources. It is a concept that applies to the built environment as well as products and services that accommodate a global user without stigmatizing.

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Sunday 17 July 2016

Wally Dutcher--A leader to be followed and missed and never forgotten.

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