Have you ever encounter a situation like this, your hands are full of grocery bags.
You get to a door.
You realize, there’s no way you can open that door knob without putting the stuff down?
In that case - it’s possible you've encountered a round door knob.
For many people - encountering a door without an easily operable lever is usually just a
minor inconvenience.
But for people with manual dexterity limitations, hand injuries, and other related disabilities
a round door knob may prevent them them being able to go through that door.
If that door had a lever style handle, it could be operable with a closed fist, or even
an elbow - making it much more accessible to people with or without disabilities.
Similarly - even though power door operators are often designed for people with disabilities
the reality is that they make going through a door easier for all kinds of people - including
people using wheelchairs, crutches and walkers, people carrying handful of shopping bags,
parents with strollers, and delivery people carrying boxes or pushing trolleys.
I’m an interior designer and I often think about how everyday environments could be improved
with good design.
From overall circulation flows throughout spaces to details like door hardware.
And a part of good design is having the awareness and consideration for people of different abilities.
While many accessible design components may have initially been designed with disabilities
in mind - the vast majority of accessible improvements to products, fixtures and environments
actually end up providing better access for everyone.
Automatic toilet flushes, faucets and soap dispensers are easier to use for people who
cannot reach or cannot operate levers, buttons and valves, but it also makes using a washroom
more sanitary and more convenient for most people.
Visually contrasting flooring transitions, tactile warning strips, and cane detectable
barriers help many people, whether they have a visual impairment or not, to see and detect
oncoming hazards more easily.
Over the last few decades, some designers have also adopted the principles of
“universal design" - which is a design approach that considers many different human factors, including
abilities, age, genders and cultural backgrounds.
Universal design reframes the approach to how we think about people with disabilities
where their needs are not seen as “special circumstances” but a part many different
human factors that require consideration.
For instance - drinking fountains, lavatories, and service counters with high and low surfaces,
or desks and tables where the heights are adjustable, are not only designed for the
use of wheelchair users, but also for children, older adults, people of different heights,
and people with different usage preferences.
Simple, easily navigable wayfinding with visual and tactile signage help people with visual
and auditory impairments, but can also improve the experience of people who speak different
languages, and people with cognitive disabilities.
Universal toilet rooms can accommodate not only wheelchair users, but also individuals
travelling with caregivers of the same or opposite gender, families with children, as
well as people who prefer to use non-gendered washrooms.
Often, the concept of “providing accommodations to disabled people” is misunderstood as
“making disabled people dependant on society to help them.”
When in fact - accommodating disabilities is pretty much the opposite of that.
While some disabled people do require caretakers or guide animals to help them with their day
to day life, the goal of accessible design is actually to provide independence for people
with disabilities.
If we provide ways for people to independently open doors, go up levels, use the toilet,
get around safely, obtain services, and find information
basically go about their day to day life like most other people.
Then technically, they’re not disabled anymore.
It’s important to realize that
traditionally we have built our environments to exclude certain people.
Disabilities are not inherently possessed by the individual
they're shaped by the barriers we have put up.
While it’s obviously not practical to immediately rebuild everything, there are still things
we can do and steps we can take to remove these barriers.
Some may argue that designing and building accessible products and environment can be costly.
While that may be true in some circumstances, when it comes to building new spaces and creating
new products - there is often not a cost difference to implementing accessible features.
Choosing a more visually contrasting colour at a change in floor level usually costs nothing
as long as the product is the same.
And installing one type of door lever over another will result in minimal price differences,
if any.
But of course - there are still costs to some accessible features, and the retrofitting
of existing non-accessible spaces could have a high initial cost.
However - in many cases - it is arguably more economically detrimental to ignore accessibility.
According to the World Health Organization, around 15% of the world's population live
with disabilities, a percentage that’s expected to rise in most developed nations due to the
increase in the older adult populations.
Communities and businesses all benefit from the participation of people with disabilities
as consumers as well as being productive members of the workforce.
Even in private homes, inaccessible design will also directly and indirectly cost individuals
money - such in the loss of productivity, as well as in the cost of caretakers or people
taking time off work to care for disabled family members.
By building spaces that accommodate people with disabilities, we can provide them with
economic empowerment and independence, and in most cases, we will also improve the
quality of life for just about everybody.
If you look at it this way, accessible design may just be one of the most morally and fiscally
responsible things we can do.
So what do you think?
What are some design improvements that you think would benefit accessibility and usability
in your life - whether it’s at home, work, school or a public space?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks for watching, this video is a part a series where I discuss the various aspects
of the interior design profession.
If you are interested, here are some more videos to check out
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Until next time!