If it’s not difficulty or lack of knowledge about making places and spaces inclusive and accessible, it has to be something else. Whatever it is, can a universal design approach make a difference? And what are the policy and political barriers to inclusion? That’s what Lilian Müller wanted to find out.
Müller’s thesis explores the complexity of why a universal design approach gets lost in planning processes. Paradoxically, solutions are not only exclusionary and stigmatising, they also add cost to projects. We have normalised “accessible/disabled” toilets, ramps and parking places dedicated to wheelchair users. These are viewed as normal add-ons for compliance with legislation. This is not a universal design or even best practice approach, and it’s not inclusive.
Updating heritage buildings for tourists has lead to more inclusive places. But new buildings are not getting the same treatment.
Five ways to look at it
The thesis explores five different aspects and perspectives. Briefly they are:
One: “Young mobile and highly educated cyclists: How urban planning and policy disables users”. Older people and people with disability are made invisible, but youth, health and mobility are put to the foreground as the norm.
Two: “Planning for human diversity – patterns of universal design”. Where this worked well in projects the focus was on people and function. Universal design goals failed to materialise where projects categorised users and high demands were put on their abilities. Interestingly, universal design seemed easier to implement in existing buildings than new constructions.
Three: “Visions of a city for all – resources, choices and universal design in urban development”. Conflicting visions and goals, and resources, support and tools to implement universal design were critical aspects in the process. The challenge is to maintain an early vision and goals throughout the process.
Four: “Citizens’ experiences of inclusion, exclusion and unequal living conditions in the built environment.” Go-along interviews revealed the essential elements in being able to visit the city centre. And also, what made them welcoming and inclusive.
Five: “Who are we building for? Tracing universal design in urban development”. This study is builds on studies one and two. There are competing and conflicting interests inside the city’s organisation and between society interests and profit interests. There is also a distorted conception of user’s conditions and abilities.
When will the barriers drop?
The thesis covers all the relevant literature on the topic. When it comes to the built environment, good policy intentions fall away and a universal design approach remains elusive. Müller deals with the complexities of this dilemma in a practical way. Her findings mirror those in Australia and elsewhere.
We continue to wait for the paradigm shift from special arrangements to designs for all. A policy for an inclusive society is one thing – politically enforcing it is another.
The title is, Bridging the Gaps: Realising Human Diversity in the Built Environment Through Universal Design.
From the Vitruvian to the Variable
The ideal pattern and symmetry of the human body underpins Vitruvian ideals for architectural design. Three architects challenge this notion as outdated because it fails to account for human diversity. Their discussion paper takes us from the Vitruvian to the variable body and the role of universal design.
“The architectural module has long been associated with the concept of measurement, where standardisation of the human body is used to define absolute modularity.”
Image is of the classic Vitruvian Man by Italian artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci.
The Vitruvian concept reduces the human body to standard measurements to create ‘human scale’ for designing space. The variability of the human condition is contrary to this notion.
The architectural ‘module’ is a concept linked to measurement. It is associated with the scale of the human body which defines proportions and how people interact with space.
The authors discuss the creation of a module to account for the variables of the human body – to make variability the foundation of the module. Their paper refers to case studies with photos of where designs exclude people.
The title of the paper is, Beyond the Body: Rethinking the architectural module to promote social inclusion. The paper is in both Italian and English. The authors use a good deal of academic prose in the English version.
Vitruvian Man
The drawing of the Vitruvian Man above illustrates the idea that the dimensions of the individual limbs of a human follow mathematical laws. Therefore, buildings should also be as well-proportioned and well thought-out as humans themselves. This theory it assumes everyone has the same body size and shape, which of course, is not the case. However, elements of Vitruvian thinking continues to reside in the myth of the average human being.
Universal design in architectural education
Ageing is a fact of life. It’s something we know happens but don’t want to think about. But policy-makers and designers need to think about it as many of us live longer. Yes, it is a good thing, but also a challenge. Two things need to change – designer attitudes and skills, and building codes. So what are architects doing about it? We need universal design in architectural education if we are to leave behind the age-unfriendly designs of last century.
A paper from Ireland discusses many of the housing issues faced across the world. That is, homelessness, affordability, social housing, and ageing safely at home. The crisis in homelessness led to more funding for local authorities to tackle the issues. Hence, an opportunity to try something different.
The Cork Centre for Architectural Education (CCAE) embarked on a “Live Project” for architecture students. This type of learning allows creativity to meet the real world. It also encourages students to take a moral and social approach to design.
The authors discuss the real life project which was to design a housing development for older adults. It covers the site and the teaching methods related to universal design. Working with the local authority gave students awareness of different housing provisions. It also changed their perceptions of families similar to their own experience.
One of the outcomes was that students found it harder to combine both the effective overall site strategy with an equally well-considered scheme for the interior of the houses. However, this was likely due to the limited time frame they were working with. But there is much more in this paper.
The title is, Universal Design in Architectural Education: Community Liaison on ‘Live Projects‘. The paper is from the 2018 Universal Design Conference held in Dublin.