access | rights by ron wickman WHO I DESIGN FOR
paths signs accommodation sustainability care
signs that things are not right:
As my father was in a wheelchair, growing up I often experienced the built environment in an uncommon way, often relying on signs to find our way and hopefully shorten our journey. A blue sign with a wheelchair symbol and the words Please Contact Host for Accessibility was the type of sign that had the most significance for us.When I was young, I would often have to go find the ‘host’ to help my father get into a restaurant or some other public space. I found this very intimidating.
public: my public, my audience, my client base is in the world of disability: wheelchairs, crutches, prostheses, guide dogs, hearing aids and cochlear implants, neurological challenges and muscular disease. mandate: improved accessibility for this public through architecture, reports, research, way-finding, graphics, accessibility audits, legal reports, cost profiles, consultant to other architecture firms, speaking engagements, guidebooks, critique and analysis.
ethics: human rights, equality of access, dignity, affordability, independence.
Travelling a lot, I observe and document accessibility features and signage that have been added to buildings that were not originally designed to be accessible. This dark brown wood sign complete with a bright white wheelchair symbol and Press Button for Assistance also provides the phrase in Braille. I would like to see the day when signs like this are not required.
practice: over 300 building projects since 1995, from bathroom modifications to an $8m housing project for the homeless. Size of project is never an issue. critique of much architecture: complex special strategies where stairs are taken as normal. ‘Handicapped Access’ added-on, often at the back. Segregation of the able-bodied from the disable- bodied. Barrier-free design considered as a technical issue tacked on at the end of the design process.
Often signs that confuse me.This brass sign with a black wheelchair symbol with a slash through it is embedded in a paved walking surface. However, I do not know what this ground sign says.
goal: complete accessibility for all, to all buildings, to all open spaces such as parks and plazas and to public transit.
demographic future: we are all aging, but we are living longer. We have amongst us people injured by birth, by war, by disease, by sport and by traffic. They are us.
This brick-coloured paver with a cream coloured wheelchair symbol was embedded in a brick walking surface in a European city I recently visited — another confusing ground sign. A directional sign can point the way to a ramp when the ramp might be difficult to locate. However, I have never understood the logic of a sign on a ramp. Here, the wheelchair symbol and the words Accessible Ramp is mounted on a guardrail at the top of the ramp. Is this necessary? and would a sign ever say Inaccessible Ramp ?
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