Universal Design of Buildings

            Universal design hasn't always been around like it has today. It began in the 1950s in Europe, Japan, and the United States as a barrier-free design meant to help people with physical disabilities in the environment around them. It wasn't until the mid 1970s - 1980s that some parts of Europe and the United States started to put more emphasis on universal design and have it more integrated into society. What's the difference between barrier-free design and universal design? Well the difference is that barrier-free design is mostly focused on the disability movement and part of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards while universal design is more broadly defined. Universal design is more about the consumer market,  it includes barrier-free design but isn't limited only to people with disabilities. It's so that people can access things more easily. I believe that universal design has been implemented well into our society today like in educational, commercial, and even government environments.

            It wasn't until 1984 that the United States started to truly implement barrier-free design into their environment. The United States government, mainly the Veterans Administration had published Barrier Free Design Handbook: Accommodations for the Physically Handicapped. As stated on page 1 of this handbook, any buildings constructed, renovated, owned, leased, or funded by the Veteran Administration must follow these requirements.

In figure 1 from the handbook, it shows the amount of space that these objects like wheelchairs and people with assistive technology need in order to function comfortably and properly. It shows the turning diameter for a wheelchair which I believe is very helpful in constructing buildings. This is to make sure that the building hallways, elevators, and interior layout are considered for people with disabilities so that they're able to access whatever they need in government buildings. Another good picture from this handbook by the Veterans Administration is figure 2.

This figure shows the reach of people in wheelchairs so that when constructing the building, they can be mindful in not making the water fountains, tables, counters, elevator buttons, sinks, and many more objects too high or too low for these people with disabilities. Something I found very interesting in this handbook was that there was a formula or specification for the amount of parking spaces need for people with disabilities. They're required to have a minimum of one accessible space for each increment of 25's up to 100, then each increment of 50's up to 200, followed by one more space for each increment of 100 up to 500. After that, from 500-1000 total parking spaces they must have a minimum of 2 percent of the total parking spaces. Over 1000, they should have 20 plus 1 for each 100 spaces over 1000. I found this interesting because I never knew how they calculated the amount of parking spaces needed for people that need accessible space. This is useful for universal design because it allows people who need these spaces to feel integrated without having difficulty to park, but also keep the people without disabilities in mind. They keep people without disabilities in mind because you don't want too many accessible spaces that people aren't using, but should have just enough for when people do need them.

        

    Many commercial places today try to lure or grab people's attention to shop at their place. And part of that would be trying to make their stores available to everyone of the general public including people with disabilities. An example of a commercial place like this would be Wal-Mart.

Although this isn't the Wal-Mart I shop at, it's a picture from creative commons that I believe displays how a lot of commercial places for shopping are like. There is a huge amount of spacing between object stands and isles that many people are able to pass by each other without collision. This is so that the consumers with disabilities don't feel uncomfortable when they need to shop. It's also helpful that the doors for Wal-Mart are automatic. That way people with crutches or in wheelchairs don't have be troubled trying to open doors for themselves. It allows the person to shop on their own time because they can come as they please without needing assistance. Wal-Mart also have around 20 accessible parking spaces in the front of the store so that people with disabilities don't have to walk as far getting into the store. When entering the store, there will usually be a section easily accessible that people are able to get an electric cart if they need it for shopping. I find that this makes it more convenient for consumers with disabilities because the cart has a basket that people can put their items in with ease and also moves around the store easily. It's helpful for those with a wheelchair or people with crutches that might feel tired going around the whole store.

            Education should be available to all those who seek it. I think for the most part our university, The Ohio State University, provides a good accessible learning environment for everybody including people with disabilities. An example of this would be that people with

disabilities should be able to reach their destination like a building on class without much difficultly. I took this picture of a handicapped parking sign that only allows people with disabilities who have permit park in the area. It also states that people who aren't supposed to park there will be fined so that keeps the space available to those who actually need them. This area is the parking space right outside Denney Hall. There are many other parking spaces like this around campus right by buildings. This makes it easier for people with disabilities to get to their class on time and more easily than walking all the way around campus just to get to their class. For the entrance to Denney Hall, there is a button you can press to open the door so you can enter easily. Close to the entrance there is a elevator that can help the person get to their intended floor easily so they're able to get into class and learn.  If you need to study outside of class, a good place to go would be the library, in this particular case, it's the Thompson Library.

                            

The left picture was taken from creative commons and the picture on the right was taken by myself. As you can see, the library has many floors and a lot of space on the main floor. In this library there are bathrooms only on the first through fourth floors. They include accessible bathrooms for people with disabilities. The elevator is located in the middle of the library and isn't tucked away in a corner that you might have to go all the way across the library to reach, it's the middle place coming from any entrance of the library. One thing that I do have to point out is the picture on the right, it shows the evacuation plan on the tenth floor. Although the library and all buildings do a good job on evacuation plans, there is one crucial thing I see. You are not supposed to use the elevator when there is an evacuation emergency, this struck me when I took the picture. It would be difficult for people with disabilities, mainly those with wheelchairs that wouldn't be able to get down safely and comfortably if there was a emergency to get out of the building. This isn't really just a problem with the Thompson Library, but all tall buildings in themselves with elevators. I don't think it's possible for tall buildings to accommodate people with disabilities, mainly those with wheelchairs in the higher floors.

            In conclusion, many places, like government buildings, commercial places, and educational environments have implemented the best they can of universal design. The government buildings by the Veterans Administration have the minimum requirements needed for the building and the parking spaces themselves. The commercial places like Wal-Mart try the best they can implement universal design so that everyone including people with disabilities have access to their whole store without any troubles. The environmental places like The Ohio State University implements universal design so that students are able to get to their learning environment easily with things like accessible parking spaces for people with disabilities, elevators, and buttons to open doors with ease. Although all these places try to implement universal design and has done pretty well at it, not everything can be universally designed like tall buildings that isn't possible to have a emergency evacuation for people with disabilities.

Sources:
Barrier Free Design Handbook: Accommodations for the Physically Handicapped. Washington,   D.C.: Office of Construction, 1984. Print.

"History of Universal Design." History of Universal Design. Institute for Human Centered           Design, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Reagan, Jan. "Center for Universal Design NCSU - About the Center - Ronald L. Mace Last        Speech." Center for Universal Design NCSU - About the Center - Ronald L. Mace Last      Speech. Center for Universal Design, Aug. 1998. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Universal Design and Assistive Technology As Workplace Accommodations: An Exploratory         White Paper on Implementation and Outcomes. Morgantown, Wv: Office of Disability       Employment Policy, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Job Accommodation Network, 2007. Internet           resource.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/OSU_William_Oxley_Thompson_Memorial_Library_East_Atrium.JPG

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/WalMart_Supercenter_Albany.jpg/1024px-WalMart_Supercenter_Albany.jpg