Universal Design

As part of my degree I have been required to take classes on disability, where the issue of universal design has been discussed. In the video “Maya Lin” Maya speaks about how important it was to keep the integrity of her design, perhaps this desire prevents other designers from accepting the idea of universal design. This point was even brought up in the video when some veterans complained the original design would prevent those veterans in wheelchairs from being able to access the site. Maya spoke a lot about creating the site for the veterans so it seemed odd to me that it would not be accessible for some of them, especially since I’m sure the topic of assessable buildings and the ADA act must have been covered in the Harvard architecture classes. While it is understandable that older buildings are not accessible it is surprising to see newer buildings still are not. While a building may have a ramp or elevators it is still not enough for some people. In the increasingly poplar shows about little people we see the difficultly they encounter on a daily basis trying to interact with the world around them. Take something like a water fountain for example there are usually two, a “regular” height and a “wheelchair” height. If there was to be a third “little people” height it would also be accessible to children. Many accommodations benefit “able” bodied people as well so perhaps it would behoove designers to begin embracing some of these elements.