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Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook

The regulatory framework for the built environment is moving away from reliance on regulation. Instead, the Australian Building Codes Board is developing handbooks for performance solutions. The Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook is one such publication. It relates to all buildings other than private housing. The handbook is only a guide, leaving potential for other ways of getting the same outcome.

The 57 page document includes appendices for each of the states and territories. Also included are legislation, regulations and design responsibilities. The key content is in the five steps:

1. 1. Locate related documentation
  2. Undertake an on-site inspection
  3. Compare expected performance
  4. Identify actual deficiencies
  5. Alleviate actual deficiencies

There is a section on people with disability which refers to the Access to Premises Standard. The handbook refers readers to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for help. The five step process is applied with explicit reference to accessibility. For example, paths of travel and sanitary facilities.

The takeaway message is that Performance Solutions may be the only practical solution to address actual deficiencies, and this is where a Universal Design approach will be most beneficial.

The 2020 version of the Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook updates the 2016 version. It reflects the move away from mandatory regulation to performance requirements.

Are architecture educators teaching universal design?

Some government funded projects require designers to show how the project will embody the principles of universal design. But what do architects think about universal design? How are they dealing with the implementation? And are architecture educators teaching universal design?

A survey of architects, educators and technologists were asked those questions. The aim of the survey was to find out:

1. How inherent is Universal Design knowledge to current building design practice?

2. What are the current Universal Design education and training needs of Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland?

3. Which Universal Design themes and topics are of most interest to Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland?

4. To what extent does existing CPD for Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland address Universal Design topics?

5. What can motivate Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland to access Universal Design CPD?

6. What are the most effective means by which to deliver Universal Design CPD to Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland?

There is still work to do with the data, but the initial findings are that face to face works best rather than online sessions for CPD. Respondents wanted to know more about people with mental health conditions and people with hearing impairments. They also wanted to know more about applying universal design to specific building types.

The title of the article is Universal Design and Continuing Professional Development for Architects: An Irish Case Study. It is an open access article.

Promoting universal design in education

Some design tutors perpetuate negative attitudes towards changes to design thinking or processes. This was one finding in Promoting Universal Design in Architectural Education. Consequently, practices don’t change. The article discusses ways that design schools can include universal design into their courses. For example, working with other disciplines such as occupational therapists who can explain the functionality of designs. The article also discusses the ‘critical eye’ and the ‘appreciative eye’.

Critical Eye and Appreciative Eye

It’s easy to see the barriers and missing design features. These stand out. The ‘critical eye’ tells us what not to do, but doesn’t tell us the remedy. The ‘appreciative eye identifies the positive aspects which provide good examples.

Good inclusive design, done well, is inconspicuous and needs a trained eye to notice it. A walkway that is flat and barrier free can be taken for granted. But we do not know how much design effort it took to make it so. The trained eye also needs to see what is not there – what is missing. A handrail or contrast stair nosings, for example.

Unfortunately this paper is published in a small Italic font and is difficult to read.

Also see Students’ Attitudes to Universal Design in Architecture Education, by Helen Larkin, Kelsey Dell, and Danielle Hitch. It was published in the Journal of Social Inclusion, 2016.

See also Hitch, Dell and Larkin from Deakin University, who also review some of the related literature. The title of the article is, Does Universal Design Education Impact on the Attitudes of Architecture Students Towards People with Disability? Published in the Journal of Accessibility and Design for All.

Inclusion, Human Rights and the Market

How can we attain our rights within a market-based economy, when those who do not experience social and economic exclusion have the the power of the market in their hands? The cost of inclusion is often said to “cost too much”. This is illustrated in the proposed changes to the NDIS. Cost is also the argument some states are using to stall the implementation of accessible housing. Human rights do not feature in these arguments.

In Western societies, justice and fairness are not inalienable rights, but a negotiated process based on mutual advantage. According to Mutual Advantage theory we have to be pragmatic about human rights in a market-based economy. The excluded need to bring a benefit to the negotiating table. Rights get enacted only after a cost-benefit analysis has been carried out and “the excluded” are assessed as being “affordable”. That is, “can we afford to include them?”. This is the wrong question. It should be, “what does it cost to exclude people?” And who is listening to the position of the excluded?

Market economists rarely reside in the excluded group fighting for rights. Measuring disadvantage and exclusion is not something they find easy to measure. Yet they do have a cost to individuals, society and the economy.

For more on this discussion, see my paper from the 2014 Brisbane Housing Forum. The content is once again current. It includes an explanation of Mutual Advantage Theory by Lawrence Becker.

PDF document Housing Forum Brisbane 2014

Word document Housing Forum Brisbane 2014

Reference: Becker, L.C., 2005. “Reciprocity, Justice and Disability”, Symposium on Disability, Ethics, Vol 116 No.1, University of Chicago Press, p 9-39.

Market segmentation by age: does it work?

Time to challenge the entrenched marketing theory of market segmentation by age. It follows mindless formulas and plays into stereotypes about older people as needy and helpless. It also perpetuates these stereotypes. An article in FastCo highlights why sectioning out older people leads to negative representations. Or worse, they patronise.

The title of the article is, Why marketing to seniors is so terrible. It’s based on research by various marketing companies. Online purchasing by over 55s has increased significantly and cuts across stereotypes of older people being tech-averse. Here are two excerpts from the article:

THE ONE UNIVERSAL TRUTH ABOUT AGING
The most surprising finding Tuma and her team discovered was when they asked people to envision an aging utopia–and an aging dystopia. In every single country surveyed, the utopia had generations living together in harmony, learning from each other, and helping one another other. The dystopia, conversely, strictly segregated young and old. Which one do we see most in advertising today?

When was the last time you saw anyone over 55 in a decent ad? The world of oldsvertising is a hellscape full of reverse mortgages, erectile dysfunction pills, and bathtubs that won’t kill you. The video below is an example of a bathtub advert.

Time to focus on attitudes, not age. No more patronising pictures of older hands, thank you – real life please. We are all ageing and we are all individuals

Access Chain inclusive design tool

An intrepid adventurer wandering in the wilderness might want the excitement of the unknown. Most of us want to know what to expect before we leave home, even for a day. For people who find everyday places inaccessible, excitement comes from knowing exactly what to expect at a new destination. That’s why the journey begins at home with information. The Sensory Trust in the UK developed an Access Chain inclusive design tool to help businesses see things from a visitor perspective.

The graphic below shows four key elements: the decision to visit, journey and arrival, on-site experience and return home. The tool is to the point, clearly written and easy to follow. Each of the four steps is explained further.

The last step is easy to forget, but a problem at this point can ruin a good day out. For example, a long walk back to the car or poorly signed routes aren’t great at the end of a tiring day.

The Sensory Trust has more resources on their website.

Information: A critical factor in inclusive tourism

“The basic task of accessible tourism is to stop focusing on the features of disability and to concentrate on various social needs and adjusting the conditions of geographical (social and physical) space to them”.

This quote from a 2019 research paper sums up the situation well. The paper focuses on the information aspects of inclusive tourism, particularly online information. It reports on a case study and lists several “rules” for accessible tourist information. The author, Anna Kolodziejczak, laments the lack of consistency of language and description across the inclusive tourism platform. The conclusion sums up the issues well:

Visibility, reliability and up-to-date facts are the basic features of tourist information. However, due to the principles of both universal design and costs of publication it is advisable to include information on the accessibility of facilities and services in all publications intended for tourists. It ought to be emphasised that tourists, as main subjects of all activities aimed at enabling them to relax in the way they dream, need information at all stages of their journey. To this end, they use various databases of tourist information which, despite having many recipients, have also many creators. Only consistent and systematic cooperation of all information providers and the ability to react quickly to the needs of tourists can make the system work efficiently and the desired results will be achieved.”

The title of the paper is, Information as a factor of the development of accessible tourism for people with disabilities.

Putting a value on universal design

Entry area to a large building that has light grey poles with handrails around and steps between. All is grey tones. — Entry to a new office block in Parramatta

Which universal design features benefit the general population and which suit a small group? This is the kind of question economists like to ask. But who to ask? The building users of course. “Stated Preferences” is the term for asking people what they think something is worth. It’s one way of putting a value on Universal Design.

Building regulations stipulate certain access requirements, but using Stated Preferences analysis and cost-benefit data, researchers found that some features suited a wide group, while others suited only a few. The question then is, if the feature for the few costs the most, should it be included or ignored in a retrofit?

A conference paper outlines the technical methods. It includes what was measured and how they were valued. The discussion section of the paper sums up the study. They found that Stated Preferences analysis and cost-benefit data can show the social and economic benefits of different features. For example, a handrail on stairs can pay back six times the investment. Among high benefit features, were good lighting, visual and tactile markings, and stair handrails. However, the story is not quite this simple and the researchers point to this.

The 18 Measures

• Good pedestrian walking surfaces outdoor
• Visual marking of walkways
• Visual and tactile marking indoors
• Stair handrails
• Automatically opening entrance doors
• Visual contrast on entrance doors
• Access ramps for entrances
• Access ramps in swimming pools
• Access ramps at beaches
• Visual marking of doors and glass walls
• Low counters – accessible for wheelchair users and people of below average height
• Universal designed toilet facilities
• Installing elevators
• Modernization of existing elevators – tactile buttons, audio messages etc. – Improved indoor lighting
• Outdoor lighting
• Assistive listening system/hearing loop
• Floor space for wheelchair access

An interesting study that reveals the preferences of building users and the value they place on certain features and the related costs. This can be compared with features in access standards where the value for users is not assessed, or the costs.

The title of the article is, Upgrading Existing Buildings to Universal Design. What Cost-Benefit Analyses Can Tell Us. It is open source from IOS Press.

Inclusive Design Toolkit for designers

five members of the inclusive design group stand behind a table with the toolkit displayed. Each person is holding a card with a word. The words spell out 10 years inclusive design toolkit. — Left to right: Joy Goodman-Deane, Sam Waller, Mike Bradley, Ian Hosking, and John Clarkson.

The Inclusive Design Toolkit has proved to be an invaluable tool for designers since it’s inception in 2007. The updated version includes the exclusion calculator which shows how many potential users might be excluded. This makes it a great toolkit for designers in any field.

The news bulletin from the Engineering Design Centre that produces the Toolkit and other resources has information on:

- The tenth anniversary of the Inclusive Design Toolkit and what has been achieved in that time.
- New exclusion calculator for better assessment for vision and dexterity.
- E-commerce image guidelines for mobile phone viewing.
- Impairment simulator software for vision and hearing is now very handy for showing how vision impairments look and sound.

The Engineering Design Centre has made great progress in inclusive design. It began by working with business to show the benefits of including as many people as possible in the design. The design team continue to break new ground keeping users at the centre of the process.

An article in the Inclusive Design Toolkit Bulletin explains how a student redesigned the chip packet for easier opening. A beer and a packet of chips is a simple pleasure for most. But if you can’t open the chip packet then not so pleasurable. This is a problem for more people than you might think.

Two gadgets to help designers, gloves and glasses, are available. Using a pack of Post-it Notes, Sam Waller demonstrates in the video below how many people will find it impossible to remove the cellophane wrapping. A good example of including people with low vision and/or arthritis is good for everyone and increases market size.

Tool for overcoming bias in design

Everyone has a bias. Our biases can lead us to fall into the traps that create unintended barriers or inconveniences for users. Recognising biases in our outlook is the key to countering them in design processes. Airbnb Design has a tool for overcoming bias in design.

It’s a human trait to hold on to initial evidence more strongly than information we gather later on. Then we fit our interpretation of the world to match that initial evidence, regardless of what else we might learn as time passes. This can prevent the process of designing inclusively.

Airbnb Design partnered with journalists from News Deeply and came up with a toolkit for designers. Another Lens is a research tool for conscientious creatives. “We believe that both designers and journalists have the responsibility to shine a light on their bias by asking the right questions, seeking conflicting viewpoints, and expanding their lens to build inclusive, global solutions”.

Three principles underpin the thinking process: balance your bias, consider the opposite and embrace a growth mindset. All good principles for universal design thinking. The website tool is simple to use, poses critical questions and provides the thinking behind it.

It’s the way the brain processes things

Dr Belina Liddell argues that culture may affect the way your brain processes everything. And that is important. The term “culture” is a very complex web of dynamic systems – beliefs, language and values, and also religion, socio-economic status and gender may play a part too.

Liddel explains how culture makes a difference to the way we not only perceive things intellectually, but visually as well. All this is from the emerging field of cultural neuroscience. Now we have new acronym to deal with, WEIRD – Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic. The article also discusses refugee populations. See the ABC science website for more on this interesting article.

Occupational Therapy meets Industrial Design

Four people are standing leaning over a large table with pens and paper and looking at a laptop. They appear to be discussing something.

Co-design has gained attention as a good way to increase accessibility and useability. However, there is another way to tackle the issues – interprofessional learning and teaching. When occupational therapy meets industrial design in the classroom the end result is a great learning experience for all. Bringing designers to a better understanding of disability and accessibility remains a vexed issue. Many and varied attempts at teaching and learning have made some improvements. Some interdisciplinary work has also shown promise and perhaps it is worth building on this model. So this is what they tried at Thomas Jefferson University. A group of occupational therapy doctoral students were embedded in a masters industrial design course. The doctoral students delivered lectures and learning activities for the masters students. Over the eight months there was time for students to share knowledge more informally. Occupational therapy students were also able to provide insights for student design projects. The knowledge and insights gained by the masters students was nuanced and best measured qualitatively using mixed methods. They had originally hoped to quantify the knowledge gained. But perhaps this kind of learning is best measured by the accessibility of future designs. The purpose, methods and outcomes are reported in an article published in the ‘Journal of Accessibility and Design for All’. The article is titled, Insights from an inaugural eight-month interprofessional collaborative co-design educational experience between occupational therapy and industrial design. The discussion and conclusion section is worth a read.

Abstract

The design of the built environment greatly impacts how all types of individuals and populations actively participate in their daily lives. Lack of access in the built environment for disabled populations remains a daily reality, negatively impacting engagement and life satisfaction, leading to isolation, loneliness, and depression. A university in the Northeastern United States sought to expand current constructs of the end-user and environment within a universal design (UD) perspective. On an eight-month inaugural interprofessional collaborative co-design experience, third-year occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students were embedded in a first-year masters of industrial design (MSID) curriculum, which ran the course of the academic calendar (two consecutive semesters: Fall and Spring). Primary aims wanted to determine, via an interrupted timeseries quantitative design, if embedding OTD students within the industrial design curriculum influenced the MSID students’ prior assumptions, understanding of disability and enhanced their willingness to create more inclusive final products. Quantitative findings indicated that it was difficult to capture the meaningful change that occurred in the doctoral capstone program experience with the existing psychometric tools available. Anecdotal mixed-method findings indicated that informal interprofessional learning experiences in the classroom, such as lectures and learning activities created and facilitated by the OTD students and delivered in real-time, broadened and enhanced the MSID students’ knowledge surrounding disability and accessibility in a more nuanced way than the chosen quantitative survey tools were constructed to capture. A detailed literature review and description of the program have been provided, along with suggestions to capture meaningful outcomes for longer-term interdisciplinary collaborations.

How to make a Universal Design Toolkit

How do you universally design a universal design guide or toolkit? Living the message is a key factor – if designing something to be inclusive, the process and outputs must be inclusive too. If not, key sections of your intended audience could be missing out on your information. After all, learners come in all shapes and sizes and different frames of reference.

When devising a customer engagement toolkit, the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in Ireland also documented their process and lessons learned. The document is focused on tourism, but the method and principles are relevant to any field of practice.

The title of the report is Lessons from Good Practices to Guide Universal Design Toolkits. However, with the update of the website this document is not readily found. Nevertheless, some of the content is mentioned below.

At 100 pages this is a lengthy document. You might want to skip the first part and go directly to the section on Guidelines to Toolkit Authors, which is at the end. Each of the headings and subheadings form a guide to developing and designing instructional toolkits and guidelines for practice.

Key points

Here are some of the key points from this section about the structure of the toolkit:

Step 1: ‘Perception’, the ability to understand information regardless of the user’s ability to see, hear or touch
Step 2: ‘Discoverability’, providing flexibility in use so that the user can find the information they want
Step 3: ‘Understanding’, how easy it is for the customer to interpret and understands how to use the content; regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level
Step 4: ‘Use’, the design prevents from accidental or inadvertent actions, forms, controls and navigation are usable and the customer decides on how to use and act on the content presented

Living the message is an important point in the universal design world. Anyone who writes, educates or speaks about universal design and inclusive practice should live the message. For example, a slideshow presentation about universal design with tiny font is contrary to the message.

Author: Jane Bringolf

Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook

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