Perceptions of Disabilities and the Effect in the Design of Inclusive Environments

Individuals with a disability and/or impairment(s) have had a long history battling with acceptance in mainstream society, life as an individual with a disability has changed with time, for example; in the Babylon era births of children with congenial impairments were used to predict the future; in the Renaissance period in Europe physical beauty and perfection was revived, fast forward to today’s time the United Kingdom hosted the Paralympic Games in 2012. What is deemed as acceptable and our understanding of the term “disability” has come a long way, important milestones have sometimes been achieved by way of protests and petitions resulting in legislation being passed. Designing inclusive buildings and the environments surrounding them is largely directed by the designer’s education, subconscious thoughts and ideas. In recent times the UK government and design bodies have hoped to direct inclusive design by introducing new, and fortifying existing legislation in conjunction with the Department of Work and Pensions rectifying and training professionals in understanding disability and to learn key skills when designing inclusive spaces. A qualitative method has been used in the form of questionnaires distributed via social media inviting professionals of the architecture and construction industry to partake in the research. The aim of this research is to explore perceptions within the architecture and construction industry and whether it has an affect when designing inclusive environments. The questionnaires concluded that preconceptions of disabilities within the architecture and construction industry do exist and education plays a dominating factor in changing our thought process. Moving forward it is recommended to carry out further investigations to establish how the preconceptions have formed and to evaluate the Built Environment Professional Education Project (BEPE) and its integration in higher education.

http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/-/media/files/resear...