West Des Moines architect Edd Soenke has received the highest award bestowed by the National Institute of Building Sciences for his work in helping to develop design principles and regulatory guidelines for safer and more accommodating environments for the growing number of people with low vision. The Design Guidelines for the Visual Environment is the first document of its kind in the United States to offer assistance to design professionals and others in accommodating a growing segment of the population who live with the spectrum of vision disorders contributing to low vision. Soenke has presented the guidelines to groups in Des Moines, Austin, Texas, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.