Jasmien Herssens

Design for All (DfA) is a recent design paradigm which aims at handicap elimination in the physical environment and strives for a more humanised architecture. The implementation of DfA confronts architects, ie designers of the built environment, with a new challenge: designing ...

The general terminology regarding inclusive design is not always as inclusive and global compared to its goals and ambitions. Design thinking often struggles with this confusion. Universal Design (UD), Inclusive Design (ID) and Design for All (DfA), are synonyms for design and designing with attention for inclusion. The terminology and definitions are various and it is not so clear how to interpret inclusive design during the design process. Theoreticians and practitioners often consider it in a different way. These differences may stimulate design confusion. This paper gives a historical and theoretical overview of the global terminology and zooms in on different views upon the implementation of inclusive insights during the design process. The idea is raised that we need a global inclusive design attitude as well as descriptive local design methods that can change according to the specific social, cultural, cognitive and physical features of the actual place and context. Without t...

This paper states the underlying concept and motivation of the design and building process of a Universal Design (UD) living lab that opened in 2013. The UD-lab is located in the city centre of Hasselt, Belgium and initiates three main ambitions: demonstration, conducting research and offering information on the added values of Universal Designing. The paper confirms the importance of global real life initiatives in order to drive forward the general awareness on Universal Designing, as ongoing activity. Besides the paper stresses the fact that the impact of small local initiatives may instantly bridge the gap between government, institutions and the population at large by means of a UD-attitude.

Architectural design is characterized by a visual bias, as evidenced in architectural theory and design research. Also in design practice non-visual sensory aspects are often neglected. Consequently many built environments are not sensory accessible for a diversity of people. The paper reports on a workshop with professional architects to evaluate a framework of haptic design parameters. The framework is developed to support architects in paying more attention to the role of touch during design, by informing them about the haptic implications of their design decisions. Additionally design techniques are suggested to assess haptic qualities during the design process. Characteristics of both framework and techniques are based on the expertise of people born blind as they are more attentive to non-visual information, and professional caregivers working with them. Feedback suggests that the architects quickly picked up the idea of the framework, and recognized its relevance, but that th...

Policy and societal objectives indicate a large need for housing renovations that both accommodate lifelong living and significantly increase energy efficiency. However, these two areas of research are not yet examined in conjunction and this paper hypothesizes this as a missed opportunity to create better renovation concepts. The paper outlines a comparative review on research in Energy Efficiency and Universal Design in order to find the similarities and differences in both depth and breadth of knowledge. Scientific literature in the two fields reveals a disparate depth of knowledge in areas of theory, research approach, and degree of implementation in society. Universal Design and Energy Efficiency are part of a trajectory of expanding scope towards greater sustainability and, although social urgency has been a driver of the research intensity and approach in both fields, in energy efficiency there is an engineering, problem solving approach while Universal Design has a more soci...

This research aims to create a deeper understanding of the haptic qualities in the built environment. As a vehicle for communication with the researcher, children who are congenitally blind engage in photo-ethnography by using a camera. Their experiences, behaviours, ...

Design for All (DfA) is a recent design paradigm which aims at handicap elimination in the physical environment and strives for a more humanised architecture. The implementation of DfA confronts architects, ie designers of the built environment, with a new challenge: designing ...

While architecture is experienced with all senses, the visual tends to receive most attention. This paper focuses on the role of haptics, ie the sense of touch, in the built environment and reports on the development of haptic design parameters to support architects in paying more ...

The paper reports on a recent Belgian initiative targeting architectural practice through the professional press. Architecture critics were invited to revisit an exemplary public building while being blindfolded and guided by persons who are visually impaired. Afterwards, ...

While architects think and work in a visual way, people who are visually impaired may pay more attention to other senses and, as a result, are able to appreciate other spatial qualities. Because of this particular ability, our research seeks to explore how to enhance communication ...

Sound provides information about our environment that is vital for social interaction, knowledge transfer and spatial orientation. Moreover, it has profound effects on our emotional responses to the world around us. Although a more conscious use of sound holds great ...

Universal Design is a recent design paradigm which aims at handicap elimination in the physical environment and strives for a more humanized architecture. After pointing out the value of Universal Design, the paper advances human centred design as a possible methodology to make ...

Architecture is experienced in a multisensory way. Moreover, human capacities to perceive architecture are highly diverse. Unfortunately the emphasis in designing and creating architecture lies in large measure on the visual representation. Other senses are hardly represented or even ...