Architecture and accessibility. In need of improvement

Have architects adopted the notion of accessibility as a form that gives principle to their design? The question remains to be answered. 

Creating architecture for all helps to improve the overall creative process, resulting in a more innovative and universally beneficial outcome. True or false? Well, though most architects would answer “true”, in reality they generally overlook the work on accessibility. It remains at a legal minimum and that’s it. Why? Maybe just because we rarely think of great architecture when we think of accessibility rules and standards. And we are wrong.

Ed Roberts Campus – Berkeley, CA
Architects – Leddy Matum Stacy

A matter of inclusion

Design for everyone must be top of mind from the beginning. An opportunity both economic and creative. Accessibility is not just a civil rights issue, it has to do with equity and inclusion. The best projects are those that enhance the lives of the people using them. And that is “of all the people using them”. Though, architects and designers often have a misconception that accessibility features are unattractive. But with creative thinking and excellent design, accessibility can be beautiful. We can think of a ramp as something stuck onto a building just to tick a box on some list of legal requirements. Or it can inspire a breakthrough, innovative design of Ed Roberts Campus in California.

 

Learning the principles of accessibility

 

Creating spaces that welcome everyone must be a reality. And this could begin from architecture schools. Accessibility should always come u as something fundamental to every project, not as something peripheral. Students need to hear from people with a wide spectrum of different abilities to better understand their needs. This is not only about mobility, but about all kinds of physical limitations. Improving the acoustics of indoor spaces for those with hearing loss, or using devices that enhance the tactile, audible or even aromatic experience for the visually impaired are practices to implement.

Museo Novencento – Milan, ITA
Architects – Studio Italo Rota & P.

An accessible to all building, makes life better for everyone. And that is a architecture’s greatest achievement.

Museo Novencento – Milan, ITA
Architects – Studio Italo Rota & P.