When famed architect Michael Graves contracted a mysterious virus in 2003, a new chapter in his life began. Paralyzed from the chest down, the pioneer of Postmodernism would be permanently required to use a wheelchair. He would use this new circumstance to design trend-setting hospitals, rehab centers, and other typologies.
Architecture’s lack of diversity shows in environments created by people who never need step-free access or to take a bus.
Currently, the various cousins and alter-egos of universal design remain in the realm of selected advocates. For many architects and designers, this is considered a “speciality” area of design, pursued by few and mastered by fewer.
For those with specific sensory experiences — from deafness and blindness to autism — the design of spaces can help or hinder. Increasingly, architects and clients are working together to create environments that are more inclusive than ever before
Universal Design (UD) is an approach to design that increases the potential for developing a better quality of life for a wide range of individuals. It is a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation (Steinfeld and Maisel, 2012). It creates products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation.