PUNE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING RESEARCH FOUNDATION (PCERF) is an NGO established in Pune started by eminent civil Engineers, architects, consultants and builders to serve the Construction Industry by solving day to day problems and creating awareness about the latest technological developments in Construction Industry. BNCA has been a supporting partner to PCERF for all it's events for many years now.
Prof. Kavita Murugkar, senior faculty at BNCA is an active member at PCERF and has been invited as the convenor of the series of seminars organised on various themes.
Taking this opportunity, Prof. Kavita organised a symposium on UNIVERSAL DESIGN on 23rd July'11 at the ICC convention center. Four eminent experts from different parts of the country, were invited to talk on different aspects of the subject as seen above in the information flier designed for the publicity of the event.
The program was made free for all by PCERF to create awareness about the subject not just amongst students but professionals too.
Report of the Seminar on Universal Design
- By Prof. Mujtaba Lokhandwala
Mr. Shrikant Nivasarkar, President, PCERF welcomed everybody and briefed about the nature and work of PCERF and Constro’12. He went on to explain why the topic for this symposium was chosen.
Ar. Kavita Murugkar introduced the subject and mentioned its relevance by stating that almost 8% of the population is disabled and how Universal Design matters to them to provide accessibility, especially in public spaces. She then announced that Constro’12 will be the first barrier free exhibition of the country.
Prof. Balram, Dean of DJ Academy of Design, was the first speaker, who expounded on the broad scope of the topic. He started with the future colours of the world. They are; Green for ecology, Grey for longer living and Blue for inclusion. These according to him will be the design issues for the future. Universal Design is also known as Barrier Free Design, Design for people with disability, Inclusive Design, Design for all, Human Centred Design, etc. He defines Universal Design as ‘The design of products and environments to be usable for all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need of adoption or specialized design’.
He then defined the challenged people based on two broad categories – Physiological parameters and Socio – economic parameters. In inclusive design “Difference is Divine” is the operating principle.
He then went on to explain the 7 Principles of Universal Design 1997. They are:
1. Equitable use
2. Flexibility in use
3. Simple and Intuitive use
4. Perceptible information
5. Tolerance for error
6. Low physical effort
7. Size and space for approach and use.
The Universal Design Principles 2011 as applied to India are:
1. Equitable
2. Usable in the Indian context
3. Cultural
4. Economic
5. Aesthetics
India’s advantages in terms of Universal Design are:
1. Tradition of caring and reverence towards elderly and people with disability
2. Scope for learning from the mistakes of the industrial countries
3. Pluralistic society
4. Scarcity is the mother of invention – Jugaad
The aspects that matter in the inclusion are:
1. Adjustability
2. Modularity
3. Flexibility
4. Adaptability and
5. Customization
To those who counter that Universal Design is costly and economically not viable he says “Universal Design is Good Business” and also good politics.
The second speaker was Mr. B. K. Dhariyal, Dy. Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Govt. of India. He was felicitated by Mr. R. R. Dhoot, V. P. PCERF. His topic of presentation was “Legal Provisions & Policy on Barrier Free Environment”. He explained how his office was the statutory authority under Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. He then explained the role of the
Chief Commissioner and the State Commissioners.He then gave the statistics of the handicapped population and mentioned that almost 2.1% of India’s population was with disabilities. They are further classified as disabled due to locomotor disability, visual disability, hearing disability, speech disability and mental disability.He then mentioned that it is a big task to make these persons productive members of the society and the need of the time was a paradigm shift in the approach of the society towards these persons. We need to shift from:
- Charity to Rights
- Welfare to empowerment
- Concessions to Opportunities
He said Planning and design process needs to be re-oriented to ensure non-handicapping and enabling environment, by access to built environment in activities since rising till going to bed, in switches, door handles, kitchen, toilets and baths, In the house, school, work place, shops, parks, places of entertainment, transport, furniture like study tables, chairs, conferences tables etc.In addition they need access to information and communication systems by enabling information in accessible formats, auditory signages, Braille, large fonts, screen reading software, etc. and availability of sign language and translation services.
The approach of his office for creating accessible environments is through
- Enactment of legislation
- Development of standards and guidelines
- Awareness amongst users and implementers
- Ensuring correct implementation in new and existing facilities
He then went on to explain the provisions in the constitution and in the laws that explain how our legal system enables those with disabilities and how it prohibits discrimination on these grounds. This he explained with the help of some case studies.His Department has published a number of books and pamphlets for establishing standards and guidelines and explaining these to all the stakeholders. This includes adding an annexure to the National Building Code – Annexure D (Clause 12.21). It has also helped the Govt. of India to establish a National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2006.He then shifted his focus to International Initiatives. He mentioned that India signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - 2007 (UNCRPD) on day 1 itself, thus binding itself and all the citizens to this convention. He then went on to explain the role of the Government. This has been well defined on their website www.ccdisabilities.nic.in.
The third speaker was Ms. Rachna Khare, of the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal. Her topic was ‘Designing Inclusive Educational Spaces for Autism’. Mr. Shrikant Nivasarkar felicitated her.She began by explaining the difficulties faced by children with learning abilities, especially autistic children. She then explained that autism was the ‘Lowest Common Denominator’ among various learning disabilities. Based on this she then posed a question, “Is education for children with brain based limitations possible in inclusive schools?” She gave the answer as a categorical “Yes”. She then went on to explain that we need to design with these people in mind, based on her study. Her report went on to identify, measure and explore the enabling aspects of the educational environment and then develop evidence based guidelines for creating an enabling environment. Through her study she has defined 18 enabling parameters for design. These parameters were then explained in details and with the help of pictures.
The fourth speaker was Ms. Neenu Kewlani of the Vijay Merchant Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled. Mr. Naren Kothari Chairman Constro’12 felicitated her. She spoke on “Beyond Barriers”. Having firsthand experience of how barriers affect disabled person, she shared her views through her own experience. Her narrative was very touching and she explained how simple things like going to a beach or a hill station can be beyond a disabled person and how thrilled she was when she was able to do so.She then went on to explain how things we take for granted, can handicapped others. Things like the width of a toilet door, absence of Braille and audio signals on ATMs, counter heights in Banks, staircases, slippery flooring and inaccessible public transport like buses, trains, taxis and rickshaws.She then went on to explain how these affected the disabled persons in their education, employment, banking, restaurants, shopping, temples, recreation and sports. She said all that the disabled want is
access to a normal day to day life.She then showed pictures of how a sensitive designer can make these facilities accessible and what options were available. Then she went on to showcase some interventions where BEST provided with low height buses and the High court at Mumbai ordered for a ramp to be built in its premises.
This presentation was followed by a presentation of the students of Ar. Kavita Murugkar on a study on Access in various Public spaces in Pune, such as the Balgandharva Rang Mandir, Municipal Swimming pools, Chaturshringi Temple, PMPML bus stands, Sassoon General Hospitals. This was done with the help of pictures showing the shortcomings of design and implementation.
This presentation was followed by a Panel Discussion moderated by Dr. Natu and Ar. Kavita Murugkar.
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