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Peter Morales: We've always
been a faith movement that

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looks to the future, that
sees new possibilities

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in the future.

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This is who we are.

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We're people who look
ahead, who innovate,

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and who seize opportunity.

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One, accessibility really
speaks to our value

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of being open and
welcoming to all people.

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So one of things we did was
work with Equal Access, which

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is our Unitarian
Universalist group who

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advocates for accessibility.

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We brought them into
the design process,

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and asked them to
review our plans

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and to give input into that.

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One example of wanting to go
beyond just the mere letter

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of the law and the basic
levels of accessibility

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is that this building was
accessible by ADA standards.

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But it's a separate entrance.

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It's rather awkward.

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Rob Molla: When you first
came up to our offices

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at 24 Farnsworth Street, the
first thing you encountered

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was a granite step up.

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But then, when you came
into the front doors,

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there was another staircase
the went to a landing,

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and then another staircase
that went into the lobby area.

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And we knew when we were
designing the building

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that we wanted to do away with
all those separate staircases.

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Jean Carroon: The lobby will be
reconfigured so that everybody

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enters through same doors.

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And once inside
those doors, there'll

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be a set of steps immediately
adjacent to lift system.

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And that allows people to
have the same experience

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in coming into the lobby.

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We can't change the fact
that the building is eight

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feet above the street level.

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But we can try to
make the experience

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of entering the building
the same for everybody.

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Peter Morales: So
to me, accessibility

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is just the basis.

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We want it to be more than
just barely accessible.

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We want to be truly
hospitable and open, inviting,

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and welcoming to people.

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Rob Molla: We put in signage
throughout the building,

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the signage is high contrast.

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It has Braille on it.

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Each of the workstations was
individualized by our staff.

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We purposely wanted
to give people

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as much control over their
workstations as possible.

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Desktops are adjustable.

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Some people chose standup
desks so they could

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have height-adjustable desks.

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Peter Morales: Our
commitment to sustainability

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affected everything, including
our choice of architect

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and architectural
firm to do this.

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Jean Carroon, who was the
lead architect for this,

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is really an expert in
renovating older buildings,

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and doing it in a way
that is sustainable.

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Jean Carroon: Environmental
sustainability is absolutely

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a part of what we do it.

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And it's a part
of what UUA does.

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If we're only worried about
pollution or carbon dioxide

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or greenhouse gases,
reusing an existing building

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is one of the greenest
things you can do.

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Rob Molla: We were
awarded LEED Platinum

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for many reasons, one of
which is because we moved

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into an existing building.

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Lighting was an
important component.

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We've reduced our
overall lighting usage,

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and saved energy by about 40%.

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Our carpeting, and our
paints, and the glues,

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and the adhesives we used in
construction are all low-VOC.

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We actually recycled more than
90% of the construction waste.

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We put in lots of
low-flow water fixtures.

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We've reduced potable
water usage by 33%.

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Over 20% of the materials in our
building come from within 500

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miles of Boston.

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We've reused more than
35% of our furniture

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and other materials
in the building.

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Peter Morales: For some
time, our association

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has worked with
our congregations

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on issues of sustainability
and accessibility.

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The green sanctuary.

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Our previous headquarters
been retrofitted around.

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But it really wasn't welcoming
the way we wanted to be.

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This was a chance to
really walk our talk,

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and to model for
everyone what is

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possible in accessibility and
in environmental sustainability.

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