Handbook of Barrier-Free Architecture. Designing Buildings for the Elderly and People with Disabilities

Author: [Japan] Takahashi Yoshihira
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: ----This book is written for professionals engaged in barrier-free design, taking the implementation of the "Love Building Law" and the formulation of the "Welfare Town Construction Planning Regulations" as an opportunity. To assist administrative, institutional, and design personnel working in the fields of health, medical care, and welfare in developing welfare town plans, the book extensively covers the history of welfare town construction in relevant departments of various countries, planning and design cases, as well as renovation plans, among other topics.----The "elderly and people with disabilities" mentioned in the title refer to the "collective" of all users of buildings and living spaces, including not only physically healthy citizens but also the elderly, infants, and young children. Moreover, it aims to enable severely disabled individuals to achieve self-reliance and participate in social activities. This is the of the book. In Japan, since the enactment of the "Basic Law for Persons with Disabilities," the concept of disability has also been extended. To date, it has been further expanded to include physically disabled persons and intellectually disabled persons, such as patients with difficult-to-treat diseases, epilepsy patients, and individuals with mental disorders. Chapter elaborates on the fundamental perspectives of planning and design based on the above considerations.----The second chapter of this book discusses the aspects of welfare town construction applicable to the elderly and people with disabilities, focusing on architectural and design dimensions. It particularly emphasizes the necessity for designers to actively understand the intentions of citizens and users to make their designs more aligned with the "emotions" of the elderly and people with disabilities. Additionally, it addresses what constitutes architectural and spatial barriers and how to design spaces, primarily from the perspectives of activity and information barriers, to provide detailed explanations.----Chapter three introduces specific cases designed for various types of elderly and people with disabilities. These cases were selected by the author based on their own judgments of different types of disabilities, with a focus not on facility usage but on cases reported in various media, and efforts were made to collect a wide range of barrier-free facilities. Naturally, they also include cases with relatively ideal overall layouts but still require consideration in specific areas. These issues are not only challenges in current design but also part of the process of implementing the "Welfare Town Construction Planning Regulations."----Chapter four introduces methods for renovating the majority of existing urban facilities, which is one of the goals of this book. First, based on the "Love Building Law," this chapter presents standard cases that comply with the equipment standards, cites some less ideal cases, and recommends personal, creative improvement proposals based on standard models.