How Does Prestigious Architecture Respond to the Principles of Universal Design?Sigmund Asmervik, Architect & City Planner, Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, Norway AbstractFor our study we have chosen Telenor's new headquarters at the former Oslo international airport at Fornebu. The scope of the project is a comprehensive study, and will thus include the work of landscape architects, architects, interior architects and industrial designers. The project will examine questions related to various kinds of impairment, such as reduced mobility, hearing and vision. The sources for our study will be our own observations, studies of drawings and documents and interviews of key persons, including architects, designers, researchers, office workers and managers. PaperI fear that prestigious architecture and architects do not give the needs of users very high priority. If you read the programmes and statements of competition juries, you will be hard pressed to find text that addresses the needs of users. That is my hypothesis. You will often find phrases like sustainability, functionality, flexibility and, of course, aesthetics being used, but these terms are mainly related to the ideas of the architect, the technological solutions and the economy of the structure, not to the demands of persons with different capabilities. The aim of this project is to examine how the solutions fit the seven principles of Universal Design. For our study we have chosen Telenor's new headquarters at the former Oslo international airport at Fornebu. Telenor is a leading Norwegian telecommunications company. It would be interesting to analyse if and how such a prestigious example of architecture that has been reviewed in such journals as Architectural Record, Architectural Review and Metropolis deals with the functionality of persons with disabilities. The scope of the project is a comprehensive study analysing the outdoor areas, the buildings and the more specific workspaces, and will thus include the work of landscape architects, architects, interior architects and industrial designers. The project will examine questions related to various kinds of impairment, such as reduced mobility, hearing and vision. Telenor has promoted itself as striving for a highly inclusive working environment, and to further this aim they have introduced a handicap- programme (HCP) to address this issue. The sources for our study will be our own observations, studies of drawings and documents and interviews of key persons, including architects, designers, researchers, office workers and managers. The Telenor case will also be used in a textbook for architects and designers, and the study will develop methodological principles on how to undertake such a project from a pedagogical point of view. The investigation will be undertaken in close coorperation with the Telenor Handicap Programme, represented by the programme manager Ingrid Ihme. The aim of HCP is to act as a springboard to help persons with disabilities into the regular employment market. Both Ingrid and I are members of the Norwegian State Council of Disabilities, appointed by the Norwegian Government last November. We are not sure if our proposal is for the forum sessions or the project session. When we have been informed that the proposal has been accepted for presentation, we will start to design our presentation according to the organisers' recommendations. The Telenor case - New Headquarters at Fornebu, NorwayOne reason for choosing this project is the fact that the American Institute of Architecture, AIA, which grants awards each year for outstanding examples of architecture in the US and the world in general, dedicated an award this year to Telenor's new headquarters at Fornebu, Norway. The jury, headed by Adrian Smith, evaluated close to 600 candidates and described the Norwegian entry as follows:
Another reason for choosing precisely this project is the fact that Telenor has proudly declared that it is working actively on the inclusive working environment. A third reason is that this project provides the opportunity to undertake a comprehensive study that includes the professions of landscape architects, arhitects, interior architects and industrial designers. As part of its transformation from a public telecommunications provider to a competitive company in the private sector, Telenor wanted to create a new working environment based on innovation, functionality, profitability, environmental responsibility and aesthetic quality at its new site at the former Oslo international airport. The size of the project is 157 000 square metres. Changes in work practices mean that most of the company's 8000 employees now work in groups, which has encouraged a shift from individual to shared workspaces. Much attention has been paid to the interior solutions for the working environment. Changes in the work practices are the consequence of new technology, and the design of the working environment can encourage and provide new ways of working. This is, of course, a major challenge when attempting to meet the demands and requirements of people with various kinds of impairment. New products and solutions have been specially designed by the interior architects, where special attention has been given to lighting and the use of colours. |