Vancouver Bans Door Knobs In New Homes, Buildings

Nov. 22, 2013
2014 Edition Building By-law states that all doors and faucets in new buildings must be equipped with lever handles.

Effective in March, all new buildings in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, must have lever handles rather than the traditional round door knobs, with the goal being to improve ease of use and accessibility for an aging population and the disabled.

Vancouver's 2014 Edition Building By-law states that all doors and faucets in new buildings be equipped with lever handles. It was passed unanimously at a Sept. 25 council meeting. This new law applies to both residential and commercial buildings but only NEW buildings. Owners of existing homes and buildings are not required to replace their door knobs.

Though Vancouver is the only city in the Canadian province with its own building codes, there are expectations that British Columbia and Canadian national building codes could adopt such codes in the future. The city has reportedly already removed the Art Deco knobs that once adorned its City Hall, built in 1936, replacing them with gold-colored levers.

This move has gotten a lot of media attention. Here, Popular Science Magazine says: “Good. Levers are the way of the future.” Popular Science Article

And here are two more interesting articles on this issue.

Businessweek

Huffington Post