Understanding Universal Design through a Facility and Site SurveyKathy Gips, Director of Training, Adaptive Environments, USA AbstractIn this highly interactive workshop we start with the premise that you have been hired to review a building to propose changes to make the building more user-friendly. Of course you will be applying universal design principles. What do you look for, how do you approach this project? What tools do you use to determine which elements of a building support and which limit users' experiences? We will discuss and show images of the range of users and of good design. We will review the survey form and tools. We will survey the facility and discuss our results and recommendations. IntroductionUniversal design needs to be experienced to be understood. If a picture is worth a thousand words then experiencing something in real life is worth a thousand pictures and ten thousand words. Which elements of a building and site "work" for people and which don't? Often it is hard to say until we have got there, entered and gone through every element of the building. Although many designers and architects are involved with new construction and have the luxury of conceiving a project from the beginning, many more are working with existing sites and buildings with all their quirks, constraints and challenges. Often designers and architects are proposing renovations to buildings that were built twenty, forty, a hundred or two hundred years ago. We start with the premise that you have been hired to review a building to propose changes to the owner for the purpose of making the building more user-friendly. Of course you will be applying universal design principles. What do you look for, how do you approach this project? ScheduleWho are we talking about, who uses the facility? Everyone! Reviewing the abilities and limitations of people who are elderly, children, people who are illiterate or don't know the native language, people with a wide range of disabilities, some of whom use assistive devices and others do not; people who have other non-disability-related assistive devices (parents with strollers, travelers with rolling suitcases, delivery people with hand trucks). Slides and discussion. Design Issues: Getting to the site, parking, passenger loading/unloading areas, paths of travel, entrances, waiting areas, signage, wayfinding, protruding objects, ground and floor surfaces, lighting, acoustics, restrooms, individual function areas, water fountains and employee areas. Slides and discussion. How to survey a facility: Participants will be put in groups of five. A facilitator will be assigned. We will review the tools (tape measures, levels, door pressure gauges) and the survey form. Participants will read the form, discuss their plan of action and have an opportunity to ask questions. The survey: Each group will start from a different point outside the building and be asked to approach, enter and use different aspects of the building. The workshops leaders will be present at any trouble spots that we feel merit particular attention. Debriefing: The groups meet to discuss their findings. They discuss amongst them recommendations they would make to the building owner to improve the usability of the building. They choose three issues to present as a group to all the workshop participants. Each group chooses a spokesperson. Each spokesperson makes a brief presentation to all the participants on the three suggestions his/her group has to improve the facility. There is then general discussion on the survey process and findings. |