Second draft

Interior design for people of all ages and abilities

Min Hyung Lee
Nov, 26, 2007


Introduction

Most families, which have a handicapped person in their family, feel that the disabled are kept at a distance from society. I agree with them because I have a disabled nephew in my family. I can see his maneuvering difficulties in public spaces and also I can fully understand his family’s sorrow. Even though there are many laws regarding accessibility for the handicapped in Korea, the handicapped still have difficulties in daily life in Korea, even in the school for the disabled. As our society ages, we need to think about this issues because almost of them have some sort of functional limitation. Even though disabled people and seniors have rights to participate in society, people struggle with physical obstacles like stairs, narrow corridors, and doors in their daily life. Therefore, government and communities need to consider the accessible design to help to get rid of physical obstacles for elderly and feeble people who have difficulties access public facilities.

 What is universal design?

The designed world can not satisfy everyone perfectly. We all have problems with the space we live in and the products we have used because designers are trained to design for average group of people considering human factors, however in fact this group does not exist in the real world. Every individual is unique and human species are quite diverse. According to Young, L. C., & Pace, R. J. (2007), “The U.S. Congress, recognizing that inaccessible buildings are one form of discrimination, passed in 1988, the Fair Housing Act Amendments, and in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA). Each contains design specifications that provide minimum requirements for building design to eliminate discriminatory building practices and make spaces usable by people with disabilities.” Even though accessible design tries to suggest some criteria for the handicapped after ADA, this design is just for the handicapped. So, designers consider products or environment to suit wide range of users, including children, elderly, people with disabilities, people who are ill or injured. We can fully explain this theme as universal design. According to the Center for Universal Design (2007), “Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” Universal design can considers human diversity in the real world and gives benefits to people of all ages and abilities.

 Principles of Universal Design
According to the Center for Universal design, a group of expert developed the principles of Universal design in 1997:

 Principle 1. Equitable Use
– The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse ability
 Principle 2. Flexibility in Use
– The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities
 Principle 3. Simple and Intuitive Use
– Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience,
knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
 Principle 4. Perceptible Information
– The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.
 Principle 5. Tolerance for error
– The design minimize hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended action.
 Principle 6. Low Physical Effort
– The design can be used effectively and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue
 Principle 7. Size and Space for approach and Use
– Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user’s body size, posture, or mobility.

 Public restroom

Even though many laws regarding accessibility have extensive requirements for public restroom, these requirements focus on just wheelchair users. Universal design expands these basic functional requests for wheelchair users to provide convenience and more flexible design to accommodate a wider range of user groups. According to Danise (2003),

 Toilet with an adjustable height seat
 Additional family style restroom with emergency alarm to provide parents the opportunity for assisting young children.
 Well lit entry spaces for safety.
 Disposable toilet seat covers from a dispenser mounted at a height reachable by all people.
 Lavatory, soap and paper towel dispenser located inside a large toilet stall for convenience.

 Seating
Typically, wheelchair seating in theater, stadium, and other public places locates in the back or front side of the main place because more wide space needs to place wheelchair. So many wheelchair users can’t enjoy performances or events from this location because they are blocked from seeing performance. Even though wheelchair users consider these seating are located at the worst place for them, they have to pay the highest ticket prices for wheelchair seating. I think it is not fair enough for them. So, in terms of seating design, Danise (2003) study found the following:

 Accessible seating designed as an integral part of the seating plan so that people using wheel chairs are not isolated from family and friends.
 Electric outlets located near wheelchair seats for recharging power chairs.
 Seat with proper support systems to prevent fatigue.
 Signs located throughout the facility to identify the most convenient routes to accessible seating area.


 Entrance and Exit
Although the ADA guideline meets minimum requirements for door opening, many people still have difficulties with entries. According to Danise( 2003), “The clear opening requirement of 32 inches accommodate average sized wheelchairs, which are 25 inches to 28 inches wide, but wheelchair are available from 20 1/2 inches to 34 3/4 inches wide. People who use larger wheelchairs find it difficult, if not impossible, to maneuver through many doorways without hitting their elbows or causing damage to door frames” (p. 47). All doors meet all minimum requirements of the ADA with numerical values, while wheelchair users are not only one who has difficulties maneuvering through doorways. People carrying packages, strollers, and small children also experience some difficulties going through entries. Automated door is good example of universal design because this enables all people, regardless of their abilities to open the door. In terms of entrance and exit, according to Danise:

 Wider openings and maneuvering clearances at doors that accommodate different users and style of movement (e.g. a person in a wheelchair, a person with a dog, a child in a stroller, adults carrying bags of groceries.)
 Light weight doors that can be opened and closed with very little force.
 Automatic sliding doors that open without any effort.
 Push-type, lever, or U-shaped handles that can be operated easily by someone with poor hand strength.

Conclusion
This thesis suggests many practical criteria for applying the principles of universal design to the design of the built environment. In terms of entrance and exit, universal design suggested automatic sliding doors and light weight doors for diverse users in public spaces. Public seating considered that people using wheel chairs are not isolated from family and friends and the most convenient routes to accessible seating area. Finally, universal design applied toilet with an adjustable height seat and additional family style restroom with emergency alarm for public restroom.
Before applying universal design, there are many tries to access with numerical value, which is concept of accessible design. However accessible design can not meet all demand of diverse group. Even though actually universal design can cover all ages and abilities in the real condition, there are many specific benefit of applying universal design.


References


Danise Levine. ( 2003). Universal Design New York 2. New York. IDeA publication.

Ostroff , E., & Preiser, W. ( 2001). Universal Design Handbook. New York. McGraw
Hill.
The Center for Universal Design (2007). About Universal Design. North Carolina State University. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm
Young, L. C., & Pace, R. J. (2007). Accessible Multifamily Housing. North Carolina State University. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/pubs_p/docs/acessiblemultifamilyhousing.pdf