Category: Research papers for built environment

Academic papers and publications

Finding Your Way: Learning from users

A university campus map showing buildings juxtaposed to each other with no semblance of order.University campuses are some of the most confusing places to visit. There seems no sense of order with buildings set up higgledy-piggledy fashion. Finding you way takes more than a campus map. Given that most campuses have buildings added as the years go by, creating a good wayfinding system is always going to be a problem. However, finding you way by learning from users is a good start.

Wayfinding around an Oslo university is the subject of an interesting study. There were four main parts to the user-centred design: understanding, envisionment, design, and evaluation. Interviewing users and scenario testing helped with understanding. Envisioning entailed testing different media to find the most suitable ways to communicate information. The design phase Oslo Met University showing an old brick facade.translated the information into prototypes. The evaluation phase used two types of user testing.

The researchers conclude it was a great learning experience for them. It showed how important it is to include users in the design process. The title of the article is, User-Centred Design for a Not Straightforward University Wayfinding.

Abstract

OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University receives thousands of students and visitors annually. Its main campus consists of many buildings in which students, staff and visitors navigate. Unfortunately, navigating around the campus can be challenging, as the existing wayfinding system is complex and not straightforward. This paper presents a problem-based approach to address the wayfinding challenges around the campus.

A group of European Project Semester students followed a user-centred design approach to involve participants throughout the four main phases of the study—understanding, envisionment, design and evaluation. Interviews and scenario-based user testing were conducted to identify the underlying problems. The findings indicated that the numbering system for rooms was inconsistent, and the signage was not clear, visible and coherent for all the buildings on the campus.

Using graphic design principles and wayfinding guidelines, a new consistent room numbering, a signage system and a mobile navigation app were proposed, developed and evaluated. The results showed that the new wayfinding system was clear and easy to understand, and it can be applied in all buildings. We observed a shorter time spent navigating to a specific room, and no mistakes was made. The app was found to be a useful and helpful tool for wayfinding. As a result of this study, the authors highlight the importance of involving users throughout the entire research process, which is our most significant learning experience as a group.

The campus map in the top picture is the Parramatta South campus of Western Sydney University. It has several heritage buildings going back to the time of early settlement. Many new buildings continue to be added.

Who do designers design for?

Four women and one man sit casually around a table where there are coloured pens and drawings.Who does the designing and what do they design? If the design works, users don’t think about the designer. But when the design works poorly, or not at all, the designer becomes the focus. “What were they thinking?” is the catch-cry. In spite of much research and literature on designing thoughtfully and inclusively, we still have a long way to go. So who do designers design for?

A short paper takes a critical look at five design approaches from last century that remain current. The author discusses “Accessible” in terms of partial inclusion and design afterthoughts. “Inclusive/Universal Design” is discussed from the perspective of eliminating disability rather than embracing diversity. Six degrees of “User-Centred Design” is the focus of this design approach where users get a say in the design. An extension of user-centred design is “Participatory Design” which is also a learning experience for designers. Lastly, “Emancipatory Design” is praised for being empowering for people with disability.

The title of the short paper is, Design Methodologies and Ethos in Disability: Research Snapshot.

Editor’s Note: The Universal Design movement is sometimes accused of wanting to design out disability. Perhaps this view can be traced back to the mistaken interpretation of universal as “one-size-fits-all”. The concept of universal design in the context of the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is very much one of inclusion, equity and acceptance of diversity. 

From the Introduction

The subject of design is one that dominates the disability literature. Throughout the past number of years, there has been a push among researchers and advocates to think critically about the ways in which design is executed and by whom. Design has taken on a central role in the ‘normalization’ of disability. Each of these design methodologies and ethos has had an essential impact on built and design environments; however, there is still a considerable need for progress. Importantly, these design methodologies and ethos bring to light the significance of understanding that in today’s society, it is normative that environments and technologies are designed for people with disabilities, not by people with disabilities. 

 

Smart Cities: Dream or Nightmare?

A city skyline at night against a backdrop of a computer circuitry board. Are smart cities a good thing? Can we be sure where they are leading us? This promised land with sustainability, connectivity and optimisation, might have a human rights cost. An interesting point from Amnesty International. 

On the one hand we have a model for inclusive urban growth with jobs and green credentials. On the other, community groups say this as a contest between surveillance capitalism and democracy. This is the point of an article by two tech people at Amnesty International.

The authors discuss the growth of smart cities and the Internet of Things. The connectivity of devices and people and the wonders of inventions seems like Utopia. However, the amount of data collected poses a threat to human rights. Unless human rights are put at the centre of development plans for smart cities the Big Tech companies will be further empowered.

A key issue is that people who are marginalised are at risk of being further disadvantaged. The title of the article is Smart Cities: dreams capable of become nightmares. There are links to further articles on the topic.

London’s Smart City Strategy

The aim of a smart city strategy is to improve the wellbeing of residents, social life and economic welfare through technology based interventions. Although technology offers several benefits for more inclusive and liveable environments, there are also drawbacks.   

Inclusiveness is embedded in the London Smart City Strategy, but there is still room for improvement.

The results of a study of the strategy indicate that spatial inclusion is the major focus of the London smart city policy. A variety of assistive technologies promote inclusive housing, transport and health management systems. 

Improving citizen engagement through collaborations, increased transparency, and measures for preventing data misuse and misinterpretation will boost inclusiveness.

The London case study highlights the potential barriers in implementing inclusive strategies for smart cities in practice. The valuable lessons may provide good information for other cities. 

The title of the article is Inclusive Smart Cities: An Exploratory Study on the London Smart City Strategy.

Enabling environments for dementia

A older man and woman are smiling at each other. The man is handing the woman a yellow tulip. Creating environments for dementia.Staying home has taken on a new meaning, and for some, a priority, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But what if the design of the home environment isn’t helping, especially if you have dementia? Alzheimer’s WA has a great website with really practical information on houses and apartments. But we need to create all environments for dementia.

Of course, staying home also means staying in the community. So the neighbourhood and facilities need to be dementia-friendly too. The website also has this covered. There are sections on, Public buildings, Gardens, Hospitals, and Care environments.

Each section takes you to a floor plan with interactive buttons. Each button takes you to an illustration of a room or space, again with buttons for more information. For example, a click on a floor plan kitchen takes you to an illustration of a kitchen. Within this illustration are buttons checking off each of the design principles, such as lighting and cooking. There are PDF lists for download as well.

This website is a comprehensive virtual information centre for living with dementia. It’s useful for family members and designers alike. Some elements might be something as simple as rearranging things so they can be seen. Others might need more design know-how. A great resource. 

There’s also a Dementia Friendly Home app and a virtual experience by Dementia Australia. 

Image courtesy Alzheimer’s WA.

Dementia-friendly neighbourhoods

Dementia-friendly neighbourhoods is a growing area of transdisciplinary research. But there are challenges and gaps that limit the depth of knowledge which need further research. An article from the University of Michigan outlines the issues for the built and social environments. 

Neighbourhoods are multi-sensory – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Technological advances support things like wayfinding and memory in navigating environments. 

The authors discuss the need for participatory methods to identify areas of need and to prioritise neighbourhood issue. 

The title of the article is, Dementia-friendly neighbourhoods, Methodological challenges and research opportunities. It’s an in depth look at the issues from an academic perspective. 

 

Access and Ancient Greece

Illustration of a Greek temple reconstruction showing a ramped entrance.Ancient Greece is well known for its many temples and healing sanctuaries. Hence, we have evidence that the ancient Greeks thought about access ramps. They made an architectural choice without legislation. However, it wouldn’t make sense to design and build a healing sanctuary that excluded the very people it was designed for.

An article by Debby Sneed discusses the history and ancient sites from the perspective of access, illness, injury and disability. She shows that disablement features in ancient Greek icons, art and sculpture. This is an indicator that disability was considered relatively normal in society. There were no attempts to hide it. 

An interesting history of ramps and ground level construction at healing sanctuaries. It includes details of various sites and discusses why some have ramps and others not. Sneed concludes that if the ancient Greeks gave thought to their disabled community, it’s important we do too.

The title of the article is, The architecture of access: ramps at ancient Greek healing sanctuaries   

Abstract: Ancient Greece is well known for its many temples and sanctuaries, including several dedicated to healing and associated cults. Informed by disability studies, this article analyses the architecture of public spaces and facilities, alongside epigraphic, iconographic and literary evidence, to argue that the ancient Greeks sought to ensure the accessibility of healing sanctuaries. Even without a framework of civil rights as we understand them today, the builders of these sites made architectural choices that enabled individuals with impaired mobility to access these spaces. It is hoped that this research may stimulate further investigations into accessibility at other sites in the Classical world and beyond.

 

Smart City Wheelchair Challenge

Drawings of a smart city car park showing cars parked vertically in stacks.How to design a smart city that’s inclusive of wheelchair users? That was the challenge for a diverse group of engineers. Their project goal was to create a 3D simulation of a smart city that is sustainable and accessible as well as smart. 

Underpinning their design concepts were the Sustainable Development Goals. These goals have inclusion and universal design at their heart. The team documented their project from the formation of their group through to the final creation. 

Their report shows pictures of their Lego creations, sketches and artist impressions of sites. Smart services are the vision for the future, such as autonomous vehicles and how they will fit into the fabric of our community designs. They also considered smart parking, trains, trash systems and lighting.

This is a very detailed but well-laid out report. It reads more like a story, with plenty to share, including their spin-off into mobile apps. They had planned to do the final presentation using virtual reality, but COVID-19 and a university shut-down cut that short. The title of the 19MB report is, Smart City Simulator: “Phase Two” – The Wheelchair Challenge.  

See also, Smart Cities for All Toolkit. 

Abstract: Many Smart City infrastructures are physical models or Lego models that are static and difficult to scale. Other existing Smart City concepts have not taken wheelchair users and their needs into account. Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), in cooperation with Oracle, assigned a project which sought to address these issues to a group from the European Project Semester. We are five international students trying to create a 3D- Simulation of a Smart City with Unity software to solve space and mobility problems. The main part of this task was to create a wheelchair accessible Smart City, which can be presented and visualized by a simulation. Right at the beginning of the project, we decided to focus not only on wheelchair users but on all kinds of physical limitations: blindness, deafness, mobility difficulties, old, young, and pregnant women.
We analyzed existing concepts, asked why it is more important than ever to develop Smart City models, and make existing cities smarter. We also looked at what needs to be improved in cities in general, especially to make life easier for people with disabilities. We exchanged ideas with organizations that helped us to learn more about the everyday life of people with disabilities, we also exchanged ideas with companies that are already actively working on making cities smarter and last but not least we looked at the innovations in Oslo that are trying to make this city smarter.
Based on our results and with the help of Proxima Lego City, a Lego model built by Oracle, we made a questionnaire to ask the participants what belongs in a Smart City and what challenges specifically the participants with disabilities have in their everyday life in cities.
After the research, the questionnaire, and the exchange with organizations and companies, we decided to create a Smart City in Universal Design, which is accessible for everyone and can be presented and experienced through a simulation. We implemented an electric autonomous public transport system, a smart trash system, a smart parking system and a smart lighting system.
We also developed an app, especially adapted to our simulation, that makes the simulation appear even more real. With the help of real-time data, the app shows the advantages of a Smart City, and it also shows the advantage of having an app specifically adapted for the Smart City.

Is your inclusive my exclusive?

View of a kerb cut with yellow tactile markers on the kerb ramp.Tactile markers and kerb cuts are commonplace on our footpaths and in other outdoor places. But what suits a person with a mobility restriction can pose problems for someone with low vision and vice versa. This issue of access features as a minimum standard is nicely presented in, Is your inclusive my exclusive? 

The article is one of several conference papers in Open Space : People Space 3. It begins with a really good way of explaining the terminology each of which has inclusion as the underlying goal. Accessible design is about accommodating specific individuals and is usually applied at the end of the design process or a retrofit. But accessible design does not suit all. 

Universal design is explained as a strategy to make designs usable for any many people as possible. This is less stigmatising for all users. If an outdoor space is designed inclusively, the need for tactile markers is reduced. Architectural features provide guidance instead.

The article includes a case study of tactile paving. Observations of pedestrians and lab tests on different designs are discussed briefly. The way that tactile pavers and kerb cuts are maintained is an ongoing issue for users and should not be ignored. The article ends with a reminder that good design, inclusive design, benefits everyone. Through a process of continuous improvement we can do better than minimum standards. 

There are several good papers in this conference which was focused on research into inclusive outdoor environments.

See also a previous post, Tactile ground markers vs wheelchairs: a solution?   

 

Urban design challenge

The four steps: Explore, Focus, Develop, Deliver.Design challenges as part of conferences are great for innovative outcomes. The Design for All Europe Summer School in Portugal was no exception. Working as interdisciplinary teams, participants were challenged with addressing the city planning issues in Viana do Castelo. 

In her paper, Jenna Mikus from Queensland takes us through the four inclusive design steps for the city planning challenge. Stage 1 is to Explore, Stage 2 is to Focus, and Stage 3 is to Develop by building scenarios. Stage 4 is Delivering the conceptual design concepts to stakeholders. In this context pilgrims and tourism workers were the priority user groups in Viana.

Mikus concludes that following an inclusive design process helps frame design research. User insights help drive innovative ideas and ensures design teams ask the right questions of participants. That leads to design solutions based on feedback – the basis of people-centred design. 

There’s more to this paper which details processes and outcomes. The terminology is a bit contorted with “Design-for-All” and “Inclusive Design” but should be read as meaning the same thing – a quest for inclusive societies.

The title of the paper is, Employing the Inclusive Design Process to Design for All.  It’s a free read courtesy QUT eprints.

Abstract: The 2019 EIDD Design for All Europe Summer School in Viana do Castelo, Portugal brought together 20 international doctoral students and design professionals to explore and apply Design for All knowledge. The program culminated in a capstone design challenge, during which participants were divided into teams and asked to apply Inclusive Design (ID) principles to address Viana’s urban planning issues. This paper presents the results of one of the four teams—outlining the design process, considerations, objectives, and outcomes. During this challenge, the team followed a prescribed ID process (based on the EIDD Design for All Europe-supported Inclusive Design framework [1] created by Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) in collaboration with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design (HHCD) at the Royal College of Art (RCA)), testing its applicability. By engaging directly with lead user group members and relevant stakeholders, the team identified creative, pragmatic design solutions to meet design goals and innovate across people, planet, and profit. Thus, by applying ID as a people-centered strategy, participants created a conceptual urban design likely to result in sustainable innovation and resonate across demographics.

The Caring City: Inhabit not Inhibit

View from high building in Brisbane overlooking building roofs and the Brisbane river and bridges. Jacaranda trees can be seen in the street.A caring city is one that understands the dynamic relationship between individuals and their surroundings. But are our cities caring or careless in their design? Carelessness makes cities uncomfortable, ugly and dull, with traffic movement taking priority over pedestrians. This extends to a multitude of steps and stairways making access difficult or impossible for some. 

Charlotte Bates argues that we need more caring in our cities. Her book chapter is a discussion based on three case studies that illustrate ways to configure care in the design of urban environments. The examples are of an open space, a hospital complex, and a housing estate.

In each example, people are have the opportunity to come together or to retreat into private space. Intimacy and spontaneity are encouraged so that “caring spaces enable connections to be made”. As Bates says, the notion of caring design challenges the designs based on property-led narratives.

black and white photograph of an open terrace at the top of a building. It has a row of stretcher beds facing out to the view.The title of the chapter by Bates, Imrie and Kullman available on ResearchGate is, “Configuring the Caring City: Ownership, Healing, Openness”.  Or you can directly download a PDF of the document. 

A second chapter titled Designing with Care and Caring with Design looks at designers as carers. The authors examine the intersection of design and care and how it is expressed in design practice. Understanding care from this broader perspective is another way of understanding universal design. It shows how universal deign is an attitudinal concept rather than resolving inclusion issues in the design process. 

The book is published by Wiley.

Book contents

  1. Designing with care and caring with design. Rob Imrie and Kim Kullman
  2. Age-inclusive design: a challenge for kitchen living. Sheila Peace
  3. Curating space, choreographing care: the efficacy of the everyday. Daryl Martin
  4. ‘I don’t care about places’: the whereabouts of design in mental health care. Ola Söderström
  5. The sensory city: autism, design and care. Joyce Davidson and Victoria L. Henderson
  6. Configuring the caring city: ownership, healing, openness. Charlotte Bates, Rob Imrie, and Kim Kullman
  7. ‘Looking after things’: caring for sites of trauma in post-earthquake Christchurch, New Zealand. Jacky Bowring
  8. Empathy, design and care – intention, knowledge and intuition: the example of Alvar Aalto. Juhani Pallasmaa
  9. Architecture, place and the ‘care-full’ design of everyday life. Jos Boys
  10. Ageing, Care and the Practice of Urban Curating. Sophie Handler
  11. Caring through design: En torno a la silla and the ‘joint problem-making’ of technical aids. Tomás Sánchez Criado and Israel Rodriguez-Giralt
  12. Design and the art of care: engaging the more than human and less than inhuman. Michael Schillmeier
  13. Afterword: Caring urban futures. Charlotte Bates and Kim Kullman

Inclusive environments and universal design

Rob Imrie and Rachael Luck provide a philosophical essay on inclusive environments, rehabilitating the body and universal design. In this essay they bring the discipline of occupational therapy to the discussion. The essay published in 2014 still has relevance today as changes in housing design are still slow to come. The title is, Designing inclusive environments: rehabilitating the body and the relevance of universal design. The essay is an introduction to the chapters that follow in this special issue of Disability and Rehabilitation. 

Urban life: the political and the architectural

Street scene of Oslo showing footpath dining and 2 cyclistsHow do you draw together the right to an urban life with practical policies? It’s a case of weighing up democratic values and architectural design. Urban life is more than just a place outside of home to visit. It’s also about being visible in public places – a concept much valued by people with disability. The underpinning value is social justice. Universal design is both a concept about inclusion as well as design initiatives. Finding the balance between them is the key.

A  study carried out in Oslo, Norway sought the views of urban experts. They included local government representatives, disability rights organisations and property owners. To sum up, public places can protect equality and dignity if all stakeholders share the same knowledge and understanding.  Once again, we see that inclusion requires knowledge sharing across disciplines. 

The article is titled, “Implementing universal design in a Norwegian context: Balancing core values and practical priorities“.

Excerpt from abstract:  How can urban planning processes include perspectives from people with disabilities? This paper discusses the implementation of universal design and accessibility in a local urban context. Universal design consists of both core values, such as inclusion and equal status, and specific design initiatives, such as design of pavement surfaces and benches. The aim of implementing universal designing strategies is to achieve equal access for all citizens. Based on an empirical study of an urban redesign project, I argue that equal access must imply both access to public places and to political processes.

 

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