Mace, Ronald L.

Ronald L. Mace was a nationally and internationally recognized architect, product designer, and educator whose design philosophy provided a design foundation for a more usable world. He coined the term "universal design" to describe the concept of designing products and the built environment to serve the needs of people regardless of their age, ability, or status in life.

Ronald L. Mace, 1941-1998

Ronald L. Mace was a nationally and internationally recognized architect, product designer, and educator whose design philosophy provided a design foundation for a more usable world. He coined the term "universal design" to describe the concept of designing products and the built environment to serve the needs of people regardless of their age, ability, or status in life.

Mace was born in Jersey City, N.J. in 1941, and contracted polio at the age of nine. His spent his childhood years with his family in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1966, Mace graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from North Carolina State University's School of Design. For four years he practiced conventional architecture before becoming involved in the effort to produce the first building code for accessibility in the United States. This code became North Carolina law in 1973 and served as a model code for other states. Mace's pioneering work in the field of accessible design was instrumental in the passage of national legislation prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities. His efforts include work on the 1973 Federal Rehabilitation Act which mandates accessibility requirements for federally-funded programs; the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 which provides minimum accessibility requirements in all multifamily housing units; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 that incorporates major building, transportation, and communications design requirements guaranteeing equal opportunity to all people in public service businesses.

In 1989, Mace established the federally-funded Center for Accessible Housing, currently known as the Center for Universal Design, at North Carolina State University's School of Design. The Center has become a leading national and international resource for information on universal design in housing, products, and the built environment. He also served as Research Professor in the Architecture Department at the School of Design.

Ronald Mace was also President of Barrier Free Environments, Inc. (BFE), an accessible design consulting firm, and a Principal of BFE Architecture, P.A., in Raleigh, N.C. He was Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and in 1992 he received the Distinguished Service Award of the President of the United States for his distinguished service in promoting dignity, equality, independence, and employment of people with disabilities. Mace was also awarded the 1996 American Institute of Architects Presidential Citation and a 1997 North Carolina State University Distinguished Alumni Award. Ron Mace died on June 29, 1998.