Accessibility Is Only the Beginning—Architecture Needs to Embrace the Full Range of Human Abilities
Designing for everyone spans the mobility perspective, but more needs to be done for the neurodiverse and visually impaired communities.
Designing for everyone spans the mobility perspective, but more needs to be done for the neurodiverse and visually impaired communities.
In 1988 Betsey and Sam Farber had a lightbulb moment as Betsey struggled to peel apples with a metal vegetable peeler. Two years later, Sam helped launch the OXO line of Good Grips kitchen tools. The goal might have been to make day-to-day tasks easier for those with arthritis, but the utensils, with their soft, nonslip handles, benefited everyone.
Architect Erick Mikiten made ease of use for everyone a priority when he renovated his 1913 Craftsman in Berkeley, California. "Universal design is not about disability—it's about better living for everyone," he explains.
Photo courtesy of Eli Mikiten, Mikiten Architecture/The Art of Access
The recognition that products, environments, and technologies can enable as well as disable users is at the heart of universal design, an approach that moves beyond "accessibility," which tends to narrowly focus on accommodating specific disabilities, to consider the needs of everyone—regardless of age, size, or ability. Whereas adherence to ADA requirements can sometimes feel like an afterthought—ask any wheelchair user about ramps hidden behind buildings—embracing diversity and promoting equity is the starting point of universal design.
Of the "stramp," a combination stair and ramp Mikiten designed, he says, "I can roll up and down a four-inch step, and my wife can walk naturally, even when carrying heavy things." The stramp follows and accentuates the home’s curved walls.
Photo courtesy of Eli Mikiten, Mikiten Architecture/The Art of Access
In recent years, baby boomers have driven the trend toward aging in place, which has made zero-step entries, lever handles, and curbless showers increasingly familiar elements in American homes. Architect Tom Kundig, principal at Olson Kundig, has seen a shift in what his clients want, along with a move away from viewing a new home as but "one in a series," he says. "People are building homes that they plan to live in for the rest of their lives, so designers have to consider the full spectrum of human ability."
Frustrated by the lack of universally designed home plans on the market and wanting to design homes that could be "visitable"by everyone, regardless of ability, Carol Sundstrom of Röm Architecture Studio in Washington State launched Nest Home Plans. Her single-story Vera plan has no-step entries, an open-concept layout, and 36-inch-wide interior doors, plus options like lower countertops, knee clearance at the kitchen island and at the sinks, and curbless showers.
Photo courtesy of Röm Architecture Studio
See the full story on Dwell.com: Accessibility Is Only the Beginning—Architecture Needs to Embrace the Full Range of Human Abilities
