Barbara L. Allan

1927 - 2014

Barbara L. Allan

Barbara Louise Allan, passed peacefully on November 7, 2014.

Barbara was born in Seattle in 1927, graduated from the University of Washington and was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority.

When architects in Washington needed information about accessible design, they called Barbara Allan. Barbara's passion for design that empowers people of all abilities left its mark on the hundreds of accessible public and private buildings in Washington and around the nation. Her decades of effort in accessibility advocacy and education earned her national recognition and accolades for her pioneering work in accessibility design, advocacy, education, and legislation. She was a humble leader in the movement towards a "culture of accessibility."

Barbara became involved in barrier-free design concepts beginning in the early 1970s. A spinal-cord-injured paraplegic originally trained as a graphic designer, she applied her experience as a wheelchair-user to understanding and advancing key notions of universal design and accessibility. Products of her effort include well-executed and influential publications that captured public and professional attention, including several editions of Accessibility Design for All, An Illustrated Handbook. She regularly spoke to and taught public, professional, and student groups. Over the years she garnered the respect of architects and design professionals throughout the US for her knowledge, understanding, determination, and continuing commitment to accessibility.

She worked alongside design professionals in hammering out regulations that support the values of accessibility. Washington governors appointed her to a series of key positions on the State Building Code Council and to the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment; in 1992, a Governor's Proclamation recognized her distinguished contributions. In large part due to Barbara Allan's efforts with The Easter Seal Society, Washington was the first state to have its regulations certified by the US Department of Justice as equaling the accessibility requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. For her accomplishments, Barbara Allan was recognized by The American Institute of Architects (AIA) National, AIA Washington Council and AIA Seattle as an Honorary Member.

Barbara down played any of these accomplishments, preferring to believe that if designers could see and understand the reasons for the regulations, they would make better design choices that would be more inherently accessible. She recognized that designers were visual learners and developed various graphic tools, including Accessibility Design for All, An Illustrated Handbook, to illustrate how and why of the accessibility regulations. This book became the leading guidance and a well-thumbed reference book for architects in Washington. She was a well-respected resource on many significant local projects, thoughtfully balancing her recommendations with real-world understanding of cost, constructability and the needs of people with disabilities. When the ADA regulations were just coming into play, Barbara was a great advocate for reasonable accommodation and helped the design community understand what that meant. In her many years she was with The Easter Seal Society she worked tirelessly with architects and developers to come up with solutions that worked for everyone.

Everything Barbara did, she did with grace and kindness.

Barbara will be greatly missed by Kathy Mayfield her lifelong and dearest friend of 54 years. Barbara is survived by her sister Virginia Smith of Folsom, CA; cousin Greg (Sally) Fenton of Bainbridge Island, WA; cousin Hap (Pat) Myer of Boise, Idaho; niece Linda (Marvin) Harold of Yuba City, CA; nephew Kenneth (Gayle Elledge; niece Valerie (Brian) Martell; Scott Elledge and many other dear nieces & nephews. Barbara was predeceased by her sister Lucy Bradley and her parents, Mabel Uden Smith and Donald Allan (Seattle pioneers).

A memorial service has been planned for Sunday, January 11th, 2015 from 1:00 - 3:30 PM at the Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington 98125.