Hi all
I have just read Adrian's email with interest.
Access is rapidly becoming an equality issue and today means more
than just being able to get into a building. The sooner clients and
designers / architects adopt a more holistic approach to the way the
consider 'disability' and the way in which they design the sooner we
will move towards an inclusive society.
The point Adrian raises about the college not being suitable for a
wheelchair user reminds me of some of the findings from the
questionnaire survey on the briefing project.
There was a general feeling amongst architects that clients were not
really good at briefing and rarely provided sufficient detail. It
appears from what Adrian has said as though the college whilst trying
to provide a safe environment for people with a visual impairment
have forgotten that some people in wheelchairs may have a visual
impairment too ie lack of holistic thinking and not really being
clear about the end users which I really find inexcusable.
The example of exclusion of a wheelchair user is the reverse of our
findings ie the wheelchair fixation with lower priority given to the
features that assist people with sensory impairments.
If there were such a thing as true accessibility I guess that we
would not be here doing what we are doing, there would not be a
section of the DDA requiring reasonable access and all disabled
people would be able to go out and do what they want, where they
want, when they want.
There are undoubtedly examples of good examples of accessible
buildings around but I am of the opinion that they are few and far
between and are currently the exception rather than the norm. Having
worked as part of an access group for the last 5 years I have to say
that!!!
There needs to be a clear commitment from both client and their
architect and if a college that actually exists to educate disabled
people can make such a fundamental error then this only serves to
reinforce the challenge ahead.
Bye for now
Andy
SURFACE
Salford University Research Focussing on Accessible Environments
Tel: 01874 636826
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