Documenting handicap situations and eliminations through Universal Design Patterns

Abstract

According to contemporary academic and social insights, human functional limitations and handicaps are not exclusively the result of the physical and/or mental characteristics of the individual(medical model),but they can just as well be a consequence of a maladjustement of the social and physical environment (conflict/social model). This radical reversal on focus from person to environment, or in other words, from the assessment that the person is impeded to the insight that the physical and social environment is an impediment, has far-reaching consequences for the designing of human-made environments. The recent Universal Design paradigm extends beyond accommodating 'modal' users and aims to include the real diversity of user populations, including those with physical and/or mental impairments and functional limitations. To achieve this, a large amount of design information in connection with human dis-abilities(limitations and possibilities) is required. Together with prescriptive laws and regulations, designers need descriptive information about, on the one hand, CONFLICTS between users and built environments, and on the other hand empirically evident design RESOLUTIONS. In response to this need, the paper advances the development of specific Universal Design Patterns (UD Patterns) in order to collect and organise this information for decision makers and for designers.