Tools For Introducing Human – Centered Design

Elaine Ostroff, Director
Global Universal Design Educator’s Network
Westport, MA, USA

Leslie Kanes Weisman, Professor of Architecture
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Southold, NY, USA

Copyright for the slide presentation “Universal Design, Beyond the ADA: An Introduction to Creating Inclusive Buildings and Places” is held jointly by Elaine Ostroff and Leslie Kanes Weisman © 2004. Copyright for the “Universal Design Building Survey: Incorporating the ADA and Beyond in Public Facilities” is held by the Global Universal Design Educator’s Network © 2004.

Key words: accessibility, public buildings, principles of universal design, exemplars, post occupancy evaluation, teaching techniques

Contents

This four part teaching unit consists of:

1. An introduction and overview that explains the purpose and uses for which these teaching/learning materials were developed
2. A fully illustrated and annotated slide presentation titled “Universal Design, Beyond the ADA: An Introduction to Creating Inclusive Buildings and Places” that includes citations and key resources
3. A new tool for evaluating existing public buildings from a human-centered perspective titled the “Universal Design Building Survey: Incorporating the ADA and Beyond in Public Facilities.” This survey is the first of its kind to integrate accessibility requirements, universal design principles, and sustainable design performance criteria.
4. Two evaluation forms designed to help improve Parts II and III based on users’ feedback

I: Introduction and Overview

The slide presentation and the building survey form contained in this teaching unit were developed as interrelated teaching/learning tools primarily for design educators, students and design advocates. However, both will be informative for architects, planners, design practitioners, facilities managers, occupational therapists, users of public buildings, and all those interested in enhancing the quality of people’s experience of public spaces and places across the spectrum of age and ability. We have intentionally published them on this website in order to make them available quickly, easily, and without cost to the widest audience possible. Our objective is to promote universal design awareness and knowledge in diverse academic courses and programs, other educational contexts such as professional development seminars, within design practices, and among the general public.

Each of these two components may be used independently or in tandem with each other. People who would like to view the slide presentation on their own computer or projected to a group can get a password by completing a form (insert hyperlink with additional instructions). The slide presentation is posted in two PDF formats. One includes the slides along with the lecture notes for each slide. This version is better suited for individual use by students, potential clients, design practitioners or interested others who can proceed at their own pace. The other version contains just the slides, and the script of the full lecture can be downloaded separately. By attaching a computer to an XGA projector for viewing on a large screen, the slide version with the separate script can be used for group presentations to larger audiences, for example by a faculty member in a design studio or lecture hall, or by those in professional workplaces, or government and community based organizations.

The building survey is also in a PDF format and can be viewed on the screen and also downloaded. All PDF files are accessible and can be completed by people who cannot see the screen and who use screen readers to hear the contents. Details about the downloading and the survey follow below.

II. Slide Presentation

The slide presentation “Universal Design, Beyond the ADA: An Introduction to Creating Inclusive Buildings and Places” is organized into three parts.

• Part one places universal design in the historical context of its origins within the civil rights movement; explains how dramatically changing global demographics have made the need for universally designed places and products essential today; and describes the relationship between universal design and sustainable design.
• Part two defines and explains seven principles that articulate universal design performance criteria, and illustrates each principle with several examples of universally designed products and environments.
• Part three introduces the building assessment tool, the “Universal Design Building Survey: Incorporating the ADA and Beyond in Public Facilities.”

Each of these three parts may be viewed sequentially or separately and in whatever order works best for the context in which it is being used. For instance, if you want to view examples of universally designed places and products, go to Part II. Or, if you are not planning to use the building survey, you can skip Part III and return to it at a later time when/if it becomes relevant. Moreover, all of the information in Part III of the slide presentation also appears in the building survey itself, so you may view, download and print the survey as an independent, self-contained tool.

Downloads:

Note: In order to view or use either form of the presentation you must complete the registration process for the Universal Design Education Online Site located at http://www.udeducation.org/admin/registration.asp. Once you are registered, you will obtain the password needed for viewing the presentations online or for displaying the presentations later. This information is only used by the authors to know who is using these materials.

Download slide presentation without notes (6.1 MB, password protected and registration required).

Download numbered notes for slide presentation (83K).

Download slide presentation with notes (1.8 MB, password protected and registration required).

III. Building Survey

The “Universal Design Building Survey: Incorporating the ADA and Beyond in Public Facilities.” may also be used in a variety of contexts and for different purposes. As a term project or assigned short-term exercise it can be easily integrated into courses on architecture/design and society, sustainable design, environment and behavior, human factors, occupational therapy, disability studies, aging, and of course, universal design. Within architectural and interior design studios it can be incorporated as an instructive pre-design research tool. For example, if the studio project is focused on designing a library, then using the building survey to evaluate an existing local library would yield practically useful background information for the programming/schematic design phase of the project. The survey form can also be used to conduct post occupancy evaluations of built projects and as a “performance checklist” of issues and considerations when designing new public buildings.

The “Universal Design Building Survey” consists of six parts:

Part 1 (pages 1-7) is an introduction that explains the purposes of the survey and how to use it. The introduction also provides a listing of key resources; a cover sheet (which asks you to jot down some basic information about the building such as location, type of public accommodation, users, etc.); and an optional building inventory sheet that provides a listing of specific places and spaces that will be especially useful in preparing to evaluate large scale and/or complex buildings and sites.

Parts 2-5 (pages 8-35) comprise the evaluation form itself. This is the main part of the survey and it is organized into four major sections that follow the typical spatial sequence people experience upon

• approaching and entering a building;
• finding their way around inside;
• using various interior rooms and spaces; and
• using “building services” - restrooms, drinking fountains and telephones

Part 6 (page 36) is a summary page that contains questions that will help you formulate your conclusions and suggestions for both readily achievable improvements that address accessibility requirements as well as more universally designed solutions

• Survey Part 1 of 6
• Survey Part 2 of 6
• Survey Part 3 of 6
• Survey Part 4 of 6
• Survey Part 5 of 6
• Survey Part 6 of 6

Each of these six sections may be viewed onscreen or downloaded as PDF files and printed separately for use as needed by individuals or by those working in teams.

IV. Evaluation Forms

The two downloadable evaluation forms that are contained in Part IV of this teaching unit are designed to help us improve the slide presentation and the building survey based on users’ feedback. If you decide to use either of these teaching/learning tools, we hope you will take a moment to help us by filling out the form(s) that applies and returning it to us as an E-Mail attachment at elaine@ostroff.org and weisman@northfork.com or weisman@njit.edu.

Slide Presentation Evaluation Form

The Universal Design Building Survey Evaluation

For more information contact:

Elaine Ostroff at elaine@ostroff.org.

or

Leslie Kanes Weisman at weisman@njit.edu.

Read the Forum on this subject

Citation: Ostroff, Elaine and Weisman, Leslie Kanes (2004). Tools for Introducing Human - Centered Design©. Retrieved (Enter Date), from Universal Design Education Online web site: http://www.udeducation.org/teach/course_mods/survey/index.asp