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Camp Manyung and universal design

a person in a wheelchair is on the flying fox highlighting universal design at Camp Manyung. — Cloudrider on zipline

Camp Manyung in Victoria is leading the way by universally designing everything. The excellent video below shows how the application of universal design principles throughout the design of the camp facilities bring about the inclusiveness that is the aim of universal design. Universal design principles are also applied to camp activities, and staff attitudes and communication. Find out more about universal design at Camp Manyung.

The camp is run by YMCA on behalf of Sport and Recreation Victoria that also has a Design for Everyone Guide. The video below explains more about Camp Manyung.

There is no legislation within Australia to guide the design of sporting or leisure activities that enable participation by everyone at a level that suits them. Sport and Recreation Victoria have embraced the principles of universal design to make all their camps and activities inclusive. The accessible high ropes course shows that anything is possible.

Integrating universal design into camp activities

Sport and Recreation Victoria and YMCA want to increase awareness and applicability of universal design in residential camps. The image shows how any one can enjoy the flying fox on the “Skyrider”. They have produced a report, Universal Design: Integrating the Principles into Camp Activities. The report outlines ways in which environments, activities and programs within residential camps can be used by everyone. It shows how to apply universal design to all aspects of camp activities.

Universal Design: Camps and Consultation

What are the best practice methods for consulting with users to implement universal design? Probably there is no one-size fits all. The literature review highlights projects that attempted to achieve universal design or user-centred design by consulting with users throughout the design process.

The case study techniques included the full participation of users in the design process, the use of hidden cameras, observation, focus groups, scaled cardboard models and 3-D virtual environments. Some important considerations for consulting with users are raised in the literature. The title of the review is Universal Design: Camps & Consultation.

Communicating at Camp Manyung

We all like to get our message across. Communication access is just as important as physical access. So what are the communication barriers that some people face? It might be reading, understanding spoken language or having difficulties speaking. So the way that signs and written communication are designed are as important as well-trained staff.

Camp Manyung has increased their level of inclusiveness by gaining communication accreditation from SCOPE. Reception staff and activity staff can now communicate with everyone throughout the camp experience. Staff wear the international communication symbol so that they are easily recognised by visitors. SCOPE has videos that show how a person trained in communication access uses their skills.

Universal Access is not Universal Design

Mark Relf traced the history of disability access and universal design in Australia. His presentation, Universal Access is not Universal Design, provided an excellent context to the position of universal design today. The transcript of his presentation is included in the Panel session on Day 2 of the conference: Panel Session Day 2 PDF.

The House that Chris Built – his story

Chris Nicholls discusses the design and construction of his family home from the perspective of a wheelchair user. He explains why some design features, which are often referred to as disability features, are not necessarily needed by every wheelchair user or person with disability. He also explains which features were important and why. His story shows why we need to mandate basic access features so that people like Chris don’t have to fight the builder all the way. Too many times the builder thought “near enough was good enough”.

The slideshow presentation has many instructive photographs. You can also download the transcript of his presentation:

Chris Nicholls Transcript Word Chris Nicholls Transcript PDF

Universal design and 40 Principles of TRIZ

A short paper by Kalevi Rantanen shows how to combine the principles of universal design and 40 Principles of TRIZ. It gives another perspective on how to apply the principles of universal design in a problem solving context. TRIZ is the Russian acronym for “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving”.

How to use 40 Principles of TRIZ flow chart: General Problem to General Solution. From Problem analysis to Evaluation and selection.

The title of the paper is, “Homes for Strong Families, Children, Seniors and All Others. How Universal Design, Design for All and Forty Principles of TRIZ Enforce Each Other”.

The 40 Principles of TRIZ are a list of simple, and easy to learn rules for solving technical and non-technical problems quickly and simply. Studying these existing solutions can inspire people to solve new problems and imagine innovative solutions. They show how and where others have successfully eliminated contradictions. They take us to the proven, powerful recorded solutions contained in the patent database. These 40 Inventive Principles help solve both technical and non-technical problems.

Principles and something more

The paper begins with a note about accessibility being a “must”. In TRIZ jargon accessibility is one feature of the Ideal Final Result. It’s about a check between whether a feature reduces harm for one group without increasing harm for another.

“For example, we consider removing a threshold. A harmful feature, a barrier to the user of a wheelchair or walker disappears. Are the useful features retained? Perhaps even new benefits appear? Everything useful is retained if we move thresholds. A new benefit is that it is easier to clean doors.

Will new harmful features appear? Usually not, but some doors may need sealing. In that case flexible, rubber-like thresholds can be used. Does the system become more complex? No, removing thresholds makes a building more simple.”

Universal Design in Sport and Recreation

Sofi De Lesantis is Manager of Metropolitan Community Facilities at Sport and Recreation Victoria. Her team works in partnership with local government to plan and invest in new and improved sport and recreation facilities that aim to meet the needs of all users across metropolitan Melbourne.

Sofi discusses how universal design thinking and principles can be applied in the sport and recreation sector, such as procurement and planning processes to influence design outcomes and how its use can lead to more active and engaged communities.

Sofi De Lesantis presentation slideshow PDF 2MB

Abstract: As Australians, sport and recreation forms an invaluable part of our cultural fabric. At the elite level it is a source of pride and unity, and at the grassroots level it is in many cases the heart of entire communities. Continue Reading Universal Design in Sport and Recreation

Universal Design and Transport

Liz Reedy discusses how many developed countries have incorporated requirements of universal design in their laws and regulations. This presentation will compare and contrast progress made in Australia with other developed countries and discuss how Australia can improve its transport systems to be more inclusive. The recent upgrades to several railway stations in Sydney were used to engage audience participation.

Liz Reedy presentation slideshow PDF 2 MB

Universal Neighbourhood Design:

Making place for multi-generations of all abilities

Assoc Prof Lisa Stafford discussed the need for building an agenda for universal neighbourhood design to cater for multi-generational use, using three studies: children, older people, document analysis of neighbourhoods.

You can see a similar paper, Planning Neighbourhoods for All Ages and Abilities: A Multigenerational Perspective.

Conference Abstract

Neighbourhoods play an integral role in facilitating both individual and community wellbeing. They have been associated with engendering cohesive and healthy communities (Thompson & Magnin, 2012; Mees, 2012), sustainable mobility (William, 2005; Schenier & Kasper, 2003), and physical activity (Hume, Salmon, Ball, 2005). However, studies have also suggested that poorly planned neighbourhoods are unfriendly towards children (Horelli, 2007; UNICEF, 2012), people with disabilities (Stafford, 2013, Gleeson, 2001, Imrie, 1996) and older people (Baldwin et al, 2012; Judd, 2012, Judd et al, 2010; Vine et al. 2012). Despite this knowledge and known problems, the neighbourhood scale continues to receive inadequate consideration from a universal design perspective.

In Australia, the 2011 enactment of the Design for Access to Premises Standards (2010), underpinned by Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and supported by Design for Access and Mobility Australian Standard suite (AS1428), resulted in the requirement of universal access to public buildings. Whilst, private homes (class 1A structures) were not included in this standard, along with public spaces, there is, however, intense advocacy and well-defined guidelines and programs promoting universally designed housing. However, there is little guidance for planners, developers and designers about how to make neighbourhoods accessible for multiple ages and abilities.

This presentation argues for the need to build an agenda for universal neighbourhood design, and an understanding of the foundations that are required to create neighbourhood environments that are friendly and inclusive of the diversity of ages and abilities. The presentation supports this through the discussion of findings from three studies: 1.a participatory study of seniors in south-east Queensland (SEQ) (Baldwin et al., 2012), 2. a person-environment study of children with physical disabilities and their families’ participation in urban spaces in SEQ (Stafford, 2013), and 3. document analysis of neighbourhoods, UD and planning relating to multi-generations and abilities (Stafford, Baldwin and Beazley, 2014).

The paper was co-authored by Dr Claudia Baldwin and Dr Harriot Beazley from University of Sunshine Coast.

Universal design: Interprofessional perspectives

Helen Larkin presents key findings from a qualitative study on the understanding of universal design and how the design for Diversity Initiative builds capacity for inter-professional education and research related to universal design practice.

Helen Larkin presentation slideshow: Universal design and inter-professional perspectives. PDF 1MB

Slips Trips and Falls: Access, Safety and Poetry in Urban Places

John Clarke is currently Director of Parish Clarke Architects, and was formerly Principal Architect with GHD Architecture and Principal of Urban Design and City Projects with Brisbane City Council. Contact John Clarke if you are interested in this presentation on slips, trips and access.

Abstract:

Notwithstanding the recent attention to sustainability in Urban Design, there remains a vast difference between the aspirations of public authorities and designers and the built outcomes in our urban places. As a culture, and as designers and place managers, and as custodians of the public realm, we need to be more vigilant, better prepared, educated, and to better understand what is required of built environments. Issues of universal design and particularly accessibility and public safety continue to be misunderstood, and place management poorly conceived or implemented.

Despite a mature design industry and the myriad of policies, regulations, and design guidelines; our urban places and connections fall far short of the goals we deserve. This is partly due to governance and budgetary allocations, but a quick survey of any of our urban places shows that as a culture we struggle with implementing design for safety and accessibility, let alone infusing our places of with human dignity and poetic experience.

This presentation examines the experience of design through visual examples and appraises some of the reasons for their failures and likely consequences in terms of safety and accessibility. Further evaluation reveals potential opportunities that might have been derived if technical, regulatory and OHS design techniques were methodically applied, and if the principles of universal design had been considered at the design and implementation stage. This may expose some the reasons why our endeavours are less than successful. Finally this presentation muses on the path ahead for designers and public authorities and what challenges they need to confront in the nature of future design management, regulation and policies to help bring about universal design.

Design for inclusive play spaces and parks

Design for access and inclusion in play spaces and parks: those devilish details that make a difference

Mary Jeavons is a landscape architect with more than 25 years experience in the design of inclusive play spaces. In her presentation she shows some of the practicalities of creating inclusion. As is often the case, it’s the attention to detail that makes the difference. Her slideshow has many pictures and this makes it a large document to download.

Jeavons presentation slideshow PDF 22MB

Presentation Abstract:

The need for access to nature, parks, gardens and diverse outdoor play opportunities is well documented and fundamental to human wellbeing. Parks and open space become increasingly important as the densities of cities increase. The design of these important spaces is therefore critical in determining how individuals of all ages and abilities access the outdoor settings for play and recreation, physical activity, social interaction, respite and retreat, and engagement with nature.

This paper focuses on the design of parks and play spaces of all kinds and their potential for intergenerational play, social interaction and community building, and for interaction with the natural world. This is a contested domain.

Play equipment in a neatly fenced rubber space, it is argued, cannot meet all of the play needs of today’s children and families. To design quality play settings in urban environments, designers need to address challenging issues in play provision such as the need for: looseness and responsiveness in public parks to allow for hands-on engagement and creativity; self-directed, unstructured play; provision for risk taking behaviour; high levels of useability and multi functionality; and for diversity in the qualities of parks, play spaces and open space.

A particularly thoughtful approach is required to provide and protect these and many other aspects of quality play and recreation environments, and to engage users of all ages and all abilities. As we broaden our concept of play, we can diversify the way we design to maximise useability. This richly illustrated presentation will show examples of details that matter to maximise physical access, social inclusion and opportunities for all users to participate in outdoor play in parks. (Paper presented by Sally Jeavons.)

Author: Jane Bringolf