AVELAR has opened its digital library of circa 1970-to-1990 California building and accessibility standards to share with all interested building and accessibility professionals. Many of the historical records to be released are cited in senior partner Lonnie Haughton’s paper chronicling the “History and Backstories of California’s ‘1985 State Building Code’”
A key player in the intertwined series of advocacy and events that led to the State Building Standards Commission’s adoption of its initial ‘1981 State Building Code’ was John A. Raeber, AIA, CSI, an employee of the famed firm, Gensler Architects, who was contracted to serve as a codes and standards consultant for Commission.
Subsequently, Mr. Raeber authored the seminal 1982 manual, “California Architectural Barriers Laws and Interpretive Manual for Barrier-Free Design” (CAL-ABL) and presented seminars throughout the state to introduce architects to these new accessibility regulations. At the same time, John followed the Office of the State Architect’s new and amended access amendments published in the ‘1985 State Building Code’ and the ensuing ‘1989 California Building Code’.
With John Raeber’s permission, AVELAR has previously released scanned copies of the 1982 and ‘1984 update’ editions of his CAL-ABL manuals. We are releasing the 1989 edition of “California Architectural Barriers Laws and Interpretive Manual for Barrier-Free Design”. (Our team’s next release will be a copy of the 1981 State Building Code.)
1989 California Architectural Barriers Laws and Interpretive Manual
