Transforming our World through Universal Design for Human Development

An environment, or any building product or service in it, should ideally be designed to meet the needs of all those who wish to use it. Universal Design is the design and composition of environments, products, and services so that they can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. It creates products, services and environments that meet people’s needs. In short, Universal Design is good design. This book presents the proceedings of UD2022, the 6th International Conference on Universal Design, held from 7 - 9 September 2022 in Brescia, Italy.The conference is targeted at professionals and academics interested in the theme of universal design as related to the built environment and the wellbeing of users, but also covers mobility and urban environments, knowledge, and information transfer, bringing together research knowledge and best practice from all over the world. The book contains 72 papers from 13 countries, grouped into 8 sections and covering topics including the design of inclusive natural environments and urban spaces, communities, neighborhoods and cities; housing; healthcare; mobility and transport systems; and universally- designed learning environments, work places, cultural and recreational spaces. One section is devoted to universal design and cultural heritage, which had a particular focus at this edition of the conference. The book reflects the professional and disciplinary diversity represented in the UD movement, and will be of interest to all those whose work involves inclusive design

Does Pure Contemplation Belong to Architecture? The Denied Ramps at the Church of San Salvatore in the Santa Giulia Museum in Brescia

The paper addresses the issue of balancing the two values underlying the accessibility and conservation of cultural heritage: its use and its protection. These values are often, and wrongly, thought of as being in opposition to each other, or as incompatible. The reason for this contrast originates from the way of understanding ancient architecture and from the value of the relationship between architecture and people. This issue is faced by presenting a recent case concerning the Museum of Santa Giulia in Brescia, a multi-layered complex that preserves evidence ranging from the prehistoric age to the contemporary age, housed in a monastic complex of Longobard origin. The recent failure to build some ramps proposed to increase the usability of the church of San Salvatore, an integral part of the museum itinerary, offers the opportunity to reflect on the need for better integration between different instances that are only apparently opposed. The topic is dealt with by referring to the most recent disciplinary reflections in the field of conservation carried out in Italy with respect to the issue of accessibility of cultural heritage, without neglecting the juridical-normative aspects and international documents, such as the Faro Convention. This multidisciplinary reading aims to highlight the main meanings that the possibility of accessing cultural heritage assumes, also with reference to the objectives of sustainable development and the human development of the individual and the reference community

On the relationship between universal and particular in architecture

In 1998 Molly Follette Story, James Mueller and Roland Mace published the book The Universal Design File; that can be considered the result of a long way, started by Mace in 1985, towards a design approach based on the principles of Universal Design. In 2010 the Centre for Active Design publishes the Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design. Between these two milestones, this article offers some ideas about the evolution of the universal approach to design. Assuming that Universal Design approach can present limits, this article aims to reflect on the relationship between universal and particular in developing a theoretical approach to architecture and design, supporting the idea that the wide gray area of the population who need specific access solutions can find answers to their needs only through successive adjustments, time by time plugged on universal solutions. This implies a process of requirement­based retrofitting of existing spaces and goods, to get qualities or perfecting performances otherwise inadequate. From this perspective the project for accessibility should be seen as a never ending process, and not a fix and final product, and Universal Design should be considered as a methodological approach ideally tending towards accessibility as a goal. Having this in mind, the article explores the issues related to how to blend universal and particular in a human centred design strategy, how to combine design actions and awareness by the users to allow an effective mutual adaptation between people and their living environment. The article aims to be further food for thought regarding research to be implemented in future works

On the Relationship Between \u2018Universal\u2019 and \u2018Particular\u2019 in Architecture

In 1998 Molly Follette Story, James Mueller and Roland Mace published the book The Universal Design File; that can be considered the result of a long way, started by Mace in 1985, towards a design approach based on the principles of Universal Design. In 2010 the Centre for Active Design publishes the Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design. Between these two milestones, this article offers some ideas about the evolution of the universal approach to design. Assuming that Universal Design approach can present limits, this article aims to reflect on the relationship between universal and particular in developing a theoretical approach to architecture and design, supporting the idea that the wide gray area of the population who need specific access solutions can find answers to their needs only through successive adjustments, time by time plugged on universal solutions. This implies a process of requirement-based retrofitting of existing spaces and goods, to get qualities or perfecting performances otherwise inadequate. From this perspective the project for accessibility should be seen as a never ending process, and not a fix and final product, and Universal Design should be considered as a methodological approach ideally tending towards accessibility as a goal. Having this in mind, the article explores the issues related to how to blend universal and particular in a human centred design strategy, how to combine design actions and wareness by the users to allow an effective mutual adaptation between people and their living environment

The house as a space of rehabilitation: the CARE project

Rehabilitation aims to recover all the possible abilities of a patient in order to reinsert him in the everyday life with the highest degree of autonomy. If that intent can be reached completely for many patients, for those who remain with a disability, a longer and tiring process is necessary, with the objective to maximize the remaining capacity “expendable” in the daily life environments, in order to allow the widest "participation" of a disabled person. The home is definitely the main daily living environment and the rehabilitation process should consider it pivotal, so that the disabled person can re appropriate it, with the highest level of autonomy.The CARE project was conceived in this perspective. It derives from an interdisciplinary work where the medical knowledge, guided by the ICF, and the design knowledge, based on the principles of the Universal Design, were compared to give an effective response to the difficulties encountered by patients in transition from a protected hospital environment to a domestic environment. This step is crucial, so that the disabled person does not give up the painstakingly autonomy just recovered with significant economic and social costs, gendering re-hospitalization phenomena. The main objectives of CARE project are: provide to patient "real spaces" where they can exercise, through an occupational therapy the daily living activities, where the medical team can measure the development progress of the rehabilitation plan

Hygrothermal behaviour of straw bale walls: experimental tests and numerical analyses

Straw is an organic material with hygroscopical properties. The high capacity it has of storing moisture from the surroundings can furthermore influence the performance and lead to the possible degradation of the material thereof. The aim of this study was to assess the conductance C-value of a complex material such as straw. A climatic chamber was used to study a sample, which reproduces a traditional plastered straw bale wall. Tests were conducted under different boundary conditions, setting constant values for temperatures and relative humidity. The revision of the assessment’s results allowed the calculation of conductance and conductivity values under different conditions. A numerical model was then designed starting from the laboratory data, which was used to characterize material properties. The match between software simulations and laboratory analyses will be a starting point for further tests. Determining the straw conductance C-value is a difficult task to achieve, due to the complexity and the unique properties of the material. In spite of all this, laboratory tests have shown encouraging results, which reflect the great potential of straw as a building material