DRIVERS AND BARRIERS FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGNING: A SURVEY ON ARCHITECTS' PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Despite a growing awareness of the need to create more usable, comfortable, and sustainable buildings for everyone, in many countries, the adoption of universal design (UD) as a design strategy is still limited. As key stakeholders, architects can contribute greatly to making the built environment more inclusive for all, but many practitioners face difficulties in daily design practice that hold them back from implementing a UD approach. This study investigated architects' perceptions regarding the barriers to and drivers of adopting UD as a design strategy at the start of the design process using a survey of 135 practicing Flemish architects. Results showed that budget constraints and skepticism from other stakeholders were perceived as the main barriers, while time-related issues were experienced as less problematic than the literature suggests. Responses to the open-ended questions revealed how architects carefully evaluate whether to apply UD as a design strategy for each design project according to design-related and client/budget criteria. These results offer insights into practicing architects' motivations regarding UD, which can provide policy makers and researchers with the information needed to more efficiently and effectively address the barriers and drivers that architects face in implementing UD.