Universal Design and Age in Place

Apr 15 2009 7:42AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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By Patricia Nunan

I try to read as many articles as I can that discuss Age in Place, Universal Design or relating topics because there are so many different viewpoints. Recently I was reading an article about a bathroom described as barrier free in a new home construction. Many times I'll come across photos of beautiful large bathrooms and in the caption it will say "barrier free," or Universally Designed bathroom. This particular one has a typical 4-5 inch shower threshold, a frameless glass door, faucets that were very euro like nubs sticking out from a wall. (I believe anyone with soapy hands would have difficulty turning the water off) the sinks were high, the toilet was in a "closet" and of course there were no grab bars or mention of blocking installed for later installation. I look and read further trying to decipher what made this a "barrier free" bathroom. Why was it considered Universal Design? Was it because it was huge?

That got me wondering what people define as Universal Design or Barrier Free. So I went online and typed in Universal Design. The first one to come up was Wikipedia. It said:

Universal design is a relatively new paradigm that emerged from "barrier-free" or "accessible design" and "assistive technology." Barrier free design and assistive technology provide a level of accessibility for people with disabilities but they also often result in separate and stigmatizing solutions, for example, a ramp that leads to a different entry to a building than a main stairway. 

So I typed in Barrier Free, first site up was a company selling all kinds of technology to help persons with disabilities, second up was Wikipedia. It said:

Barrier-free building modification consists of modifying buildings or facilities so that they can be used by the physically disadvantaged or disabled. An example would be installing a ramp for wheelchairs alongside or in place of some steps. The idea of barrier free modification has largely been superseded by the concept of universal design, which seeks to design things from the outset to support easy access. This latter approach usually leads to lower total cost. However, with pre-existing structures, barrier free may be the most appropriate or only valid approach.

So back to the photo of the beautiful bathroom. This was new construction so conceivably it should be less expensive to build it right from the onset. The shower could have had no threshold to cross; the faucets could have been a lever type, preferably with a hand held too. There could have been a partition wall or ½ walls that could be removable, and there should have been at least one grab bar. (Grab bars are great for kids just learning to take showers too!)

Ron Mace, founder and program director of The Center for Universal Design coined the term "universal design" to describe the concept as designing of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

So is this bathroom Universal Design or is it barrier free? It’s really going to be up to the individual interpreting the design. To me a bathroom, no matter how large it is, if the shower has a raised threshold and the toilet is in a closet, it’s not barrier free because it poses a handicap for someone that uses a wheel chair or can’t get their foot up to access the shower. And it’s certainly not Universal Design. It’s just a beautiful big bathroom.