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International Seminar on Environmental Accessibility, Beirut, 1999 Report Contents: |
II. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONF. Universal design: strategies for teachingProf. Abir Mullik began his presentation by recalling that universal design is about human scale, providing choices and promoting social inclusion. There are seven principles of universal design: (a) equitable use, (b) flexibility in use, (c) simple and intuitive use, (d) perceptive information, (e) tolerance for error, (f) low physical effort, and (g) size and space for approach and use. Universal design suggests a mode of inquiry and raises questions about participant in a design process. It constructs a relationship between our expectations and participation in design. Universal design seeks to respond to a broad and diverse community of users who daily interact with products created by designers. It also is about including users in the design process at the level of aesthetics and technology. Notable among the early proponents of universal design was Prof. Raymond Lifchez, who brought actual users into the design studio setting rather than have the fellows deal with design standards and legal requirements as abstract considerations. Strategies for teaching universal design were derived from the Universal Design Education Project in the United States, which was organised to identify measures to include universal design principles as an integral component of design curricula. Forty-five proposals were received. The study suggests that there is no one curriculum for teaching universal design. Many programmes submitted were multidisciplinary and all incorporated the following techniques: (a) community involvement, (b) experimental learning and (c) use of "user-experts". |