Building for special needs

Lecture #2
Doaa Taan
Universal design, inclusive design, accessible
design, design for all: different concepts—one goal
• Inclusive design, accessibility, and universal design are important for
different reasons and have different strengths. Designers should be familiar
with all three.
• An inclusive designer is someone, arguably anyone, who recognizes and
remedies mismatched interactions between people and their world.
• Susan Goltsman: Inclusive design doesn’t mean you’re designing one thing
for all people. You’re designing a diversity of ways to participate so that
everyone has a sense of belonging.
• Inclusive design should always start with a solid understanding of
accessibility fundamentals. Accessibility criteria are the foundation of
integrity for any inclusive solution.
• Accessible design is a design process in which the needs of people with disabilities are
specifically considered. Accessibility sometimes refers to the characteristic that products,
services, and facilities can be independently used by people with a variety of disabilities.
• it is not necessarily universal if a design is accessible it is necessarily accessible if a design
is universal
• Universal Design is defined as the design of an environment so that it might be accessed
and used in the widest possible range of situations without the need for adaptation.
• inclusive design was born out of digital technologies in the 1970s and ’80s, like
captioning for people who are deaf and audio-recorded books for blind communities.
Inclusive design is now growing into adulthood alongside the internet.
• universal design is strongest at describing the qualities of a final design. It is exceptionally
good at describing the nature of physical objects. Inclusive design, conversely, focuses on
how a designer arrived at that design. Did their process include the contributions of
excluded communities?
• The user pyramid (figure 1) displays how the market can be separated into
four segments. The so-called average consumer can be found in the bottom
segment with other healthy, able-bodied customers. In the next, and
biggest segment, users with slightly restricted capabilities belong. This
includes for instance people who need glasses, are left-handed or have
dyslexia. People can also temporarily belong to this group by for example
be carrying heavy luggage or pregnancy (Eikhaug, 2010). Inclusive design
aims to reach these two groups with a bottom-up approach, which means
making mainstream products also accessible for people with disabilities.
(Dong et al, 2003) The top two segments are usually not viewed as primary
markets for inclusive design, due to the large gap between their needs and
the needs of the mainstream user (Eikhaug, 2010).
• The term universal design was first used by the American architect
Ronald L. Mace in 1985. He was the one formulating universal design
as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all
people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaption
or specialized design.” (Vavik & Gheerawo, 2009, p.10) The first
international conference for universal design was hold in 1992 in
Japan.
• In 1997 the seven principles of universal design were established as:
1. Equitable use
2. Flexibility in use
3. Simple and intuitive use
4. Perceptible information
5. Tolerance for error
6. Low physical error
7. Size and space for approach and use.
Curb cut
Automatic door
Closed-captioning
Adjustable chair/table
What do those items have in common?

They are examples of

Universal Design in
architecture.
• Sidewalks with curb cuts and doors that automatically open when a
person moves near them are examples of universally designed
products. They benefit people with disabilities, parents with baby
strollers, delivery workers, and others. Human characteristics
considered in universal designs may include age, gender, stature,
race/ethnicity, culture, native language and learning preference.
Let’s define it:

According to Ron Mace of NC State University:

“the idea behind Universal Design in architecture is to create

structures that are conceived, designed, and constructed to
accommodate the widest spectrum of users, including those
with disabilities, without the need for subsequent adaptation
or specialized design.”
INTENDED
USERS
Take the concept of Universal Design for architecture and plug
it into the realm of instruction.

Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) means:

The principles of UDI are designed to support faculty in creating

courses that accommodate a wide spectrum of student needs.”
Why is UdI important in a classroom?
True or False?

You have students in your classroom or work area who:

_____ have a variety of academic abilities.

_____ have a wide range of academic goals.
_____ have different educational experiences.
_____ have different backgrounds.
_____ have different learning styles.
_____ may or may not be proficient in English.
_____ might have a learning disability .
_____ are used to instruction at different paces.
Why is Udi important in a classroom?
True or False?

You have students in your classroom or work area who:

TRUE have a variety of academic abilities.

TRUE have a wide range of academic goals.
TRUE have different educational experiences.
TRUE have different backgrounds.
TRUE have different learning styles.
TRUE may or may not be proficient in English.
TRUE might have a learning disability or ADHD.
TRUE are used to instruction at different paces.