Universal Design versus accessibility

e Universal Design versus accessibility

Universal Design is usually perceived as an extension of accessibility, and although the two concepts concern user comfort and mobility, their approaches to social equality are different. Accessibility describes access for users with disabilities, and it is often equated with handicap-friendly solutions.

Universal Design does not divide users into disabled and non-disabled groups, but instead it looks at the physical and psychological needs of all users. Disabled is not what you are, it is what you become if there are physical barriers in buildings.

In practice, this means that accessibility touches on the technical and legal minimum requirements defned in Building Regulation BR18. In contrast to Universal Design, the related accessibility concept is about physical obstacles. Within architecture, outdoor spaces and similar, we specialists comply with the building regulations and achieve legal accessibility. Things are different with Universal Design. In principle, the Universal Design concept has no boundaries and no predefned concrete solutions. It challenges our understandings of our surroundings and reaches beyond requirements and certifcations. It is a movement that questions the accepted design practices that, often inadvertently, design and build for the average person, or fgure, and thereby potentially exclude a large group of users. Universal Design

Accessibility

Universal Design_accessibility model ©Camilla Ryhl, Bevica Fonden