Ronald "Ron" Lawrence Mace, FAIA

Dublin Core

Title

Ronald "Ron" Lawrence Mace, FAIA

Description

Profile and biography of Ronald "Ron" Lawrence Mace, FAIA.

Person Item Type Metadata

Birth Date

1941

Birthplace

Jersey City, NJ

Death Date

June 29, 1998

Occupation

Architect

Biographical Text

Ronald "Ron" Lawrence Mace was a design pioneer, the visionary of Universal Design, and the founder and program director of The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Born in New Jersey, NJ, he grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1950, at the age of nine, he contracted polio, and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He studied architecture at the North Carolina State University's School of Design, where he encountered inaccessible facilities that limited his use and mobility around campus. He graduated with a BA in 1966.

After four years of practicing conventional architecture, he became involved in the effort to produce the first building code for accessibility in the nation. This code became mandatory in North Carolina in 1973 and served as a model for other states.

In 1985, he pioneered the concept of "Universal Design." In 1989, he established the federally-funded Center for Accessible Housing, currently known as The Center for Universal Design, at the School of Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He was also a Research Professor in the Architecture Department in the School of Design at the North Carolina State University.

Ron's pioneering work in accessible design was instrumental in the passage of national legislation prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Mace was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and received the Distinguished Service Award of the President of the United States in 1992 for distinguished service in promoting dignity, equality, independence and employment of people with disabilities.

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Citation

“Ronald "Ron" Lawrence Mace, FAIA,” Disability Inclusivity in Medicine: Representations, Policies, Environment, and Technologies, accessed April 5, 2025, https://mail.dhd752groupproject.digital.uic.edu/items/show/11.

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