Accessibility

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Permalink Reply by Deb Deck-Suarez on September 26, 2007 at 12:24pm

Is it a necessity for accessible architecture? Or, will the law makers have to continue imposing legislations, as ADA for architects to take into consideration the small number of people with special needs?

During this year, I will be working with adaptability and accessibility as two major components for my thesis. I am investigating the necessity for designs that are incorporated for the needs of handicaps. I think as architects (some of us future architects), we have the obligation to provide spaces that are accessible to anyone. As human, we are not able to know when we will need some special accommodations; therefore, we should plan our designs for the future.

I will be looking into many areas of design for Alzheimer patients and/or blind people. Because of their condition, they need some architecture that will express the sense of being in a familiar place. Layouts can be used as guides providing independence. If we are able to take into consideration that not all clients are wealthy and healthy people we can create an Architecture that permits the same benefits for all persons experiencing the space. Spaces will age with users and adapt to their necessities.

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Permalink Reply by Gautam Trivedi T on March 9, 2008 at 2:43am

is accessible architecture a necessity ?
one would suggest that inaccessible architecture and cities that are not barrier free are a violation of human rights !
the chairman of a company, here in my country, once advised me that the percentage of people with disabilities working in his firm was very low so we need not bother about paying attention....they would in his words, " adjust " !...!...!
i have had first hand experience as a care giver for the elderly ( limited mobility, dementia, parkinsonism, depression, loneliness and hip fractures) and as a consequence had run ins with barriers from the point of view of the user....one would think that some barriers are country specific....in my city, New Delhi, if one is " challenged", physically or otherwise, one might as well be dead !......
that is a pretty strong statement to make, i know, and a few feathers may be ruffled but, what the hell !
so what should architects and designers do ?.......
i am not sure if they get to be decision makers in the process, but they could first build up their own awareness of how limited the world becomes if one is " challenged ". kimbo's suggestions to the transport authority were excellent.....unless you try it out yourself, you aint gonna know !...the smallest obstacle becomes insurmountable...the whole world rushes past you while you take one faltering step after another, afraid you might trip and fall, gradually withdrawing into a mindspace enveloped by fear.
but it appears as though bureaucrats are blockheads all over the world !
so the next task would be to help build awareness, talk about it wherever we can, form pressure groups, make compassionate design a characteristic of ones design concepts, to do for human beings what the SPCA does for animals...we should have a SPCH ( society for prevention of cruelty to human beings) !
sometimes i've wondered what the role of a city is....you know....is it just a large, chaotic heartless marketplace where people, in the words of a famous writer, come to, "...live, lie, fornicate and defecate..." .
can we not help design and build cities that nurture like a mother nurtures her children ?
can we build the compassionate city ?

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Permalink Reply by Michael McKenzie on March 15, 2008 at 9:48am

Hi all...this topic has special interest for me because my mother was crippled with Polio as a young woman and now at age 85 is still struggling with a redundant, obstacle filled environment in a 'world class' retirement home.

A quick way to learn 'universal' design for all . Get rid of that snazzy adjustable ergonomically sensitive office chair you plant your butt in everyday...and replace it with a wheelchair. Tremendous insight will ensue...and you'll have some fun too!

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Permalink Reply by Gautam Trivedi T on March 15, 2008 at 10:04am

.....Cheers to that Michael !

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Permalink Reply by armando garcia orso on March 2, 2008 at 11:59am

Accessibility have to be an integral part in any design, we need to think in an universal mode and as said Deb Deck-Suarez our designs should be plan for the future.

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Permalink Reply by reg on March 6, 2008 at 10:50am

I guess it's more to do with ignorance coupled with insensitivity towards our less privileged fellow human beings. Just a li'l bit more sensitive, thoughtful designs will make all the difference. Accessible buildings are comfortable not only for the physically challenged, but also for all of us normal, physically fit people ........ children, adults ...... everyone. Every building must be an accessible building. And if guidelines are not effective enough, legal regulations must be enforced. ..... thats what i think every city / national authority must do.

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Permalink Reply by armando garcia orso on March 6, 2008 at 12:40pm

correct! that is the way.

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Permalink Reply by Gautam Trivedi T on March 10, 2008 at 8:46am

..... and conversely how the helpful encounters with inanimate objects, density/ lightness/scent of air direction on our faces, and directional sounds, all establish a mental and physical map.......

are there some clues here to a new way of building.....i wonder.....

thanks for providing the link to blindart, kimbo, really loved some of the works displayed there....adds a new dimension to the so called " normal" way of doing things !

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Permalink Reply by Gautam Trivedi T on March 12, 2008 at 8:24am

found these intresting links !

http://www.lighthouse.org/aboutus/lighthouse-headquarters/a-model-o...

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Permalink Reply by Gautam Trivedi T on March 15, 2008 at 11:07am

....point well made.
thankyou for pointing us in the direction of the moon, kimbo....they say awareness of one's ignorance is the first step to knowledge...

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Permalink Reply by Michael McKenzie on March 15, 2008 at 5:41pm

Just to make a final comment re Accessability...I wasn't kidding earlier with my suggestion that we work from a wheelchair instead of our usual chair at the office...like method acting where you become the person you portray...in this method you become the person who is most challenged in the space you create...and by becoming that person you have a chance to get it right for everyone.
This is because... the accessibility offered in 'universal' design offers benefits for able bodied people as well...or to put it differently...universal design is described as universal...because it works for everyone. So please...rent a manual chair and use it at the office for a week...and you will begin to learn how to be a truly RELEVANT creator of human environments.
Cheers!

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Permalink Reply by Deb Deck-Suarez on March 18, 2008 at 5:56pm

I am starting to find more information about 'Inclusive Design' than 'Universal Design'. It looks like the changed in terms is attracting a new group of designers/architects. Most of the websites are centralizing the concept in the need of housing for the elderly. As you (Michael M) expressed before the main idea is that the spaces work for everybody and not just for a selected group.

Your suggestion to work from a wheelchair is a good way to interact with the spaces and understand all posible clients. Accessibility is more than a concept, is an element of living.

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/Design-Techniques/I... - presents a good idea of Inclusive Design

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