AVISHKAR AWARD to Prof. Kavita Murugkar :First prize at State Level Research Competition

Prof. Kavita Murugkar has been awarded the STATE LEVEL FIRST PRIZE for her research project :

UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY IN HERITAGE ENVIRONMENTS IN INDIA at the AVISHKAR 2012, Maharashtra State Inter-university Research Convention, held at Dapoli Krishi Vidyapeeth this year. Her research project was selected as one of the best in the Teachers’ Category in Humanities Faculty, out of total 500 entries shortlisted across 20 universities in the state. It was selected through a long jury process starting at the University zonal level, University level and then finally the State level.
This study is a part of the research project granted by the BCUD, University of Pune to Prof.Kavita Murugkar.

Research projects that are innovative, creative and at the same time have a significant social impact were selected by the esteemed jury panel which comprised of national level experts from relevant fields.

The research conducted by Prof Murugkar, aimed to identify the barriers for physical and intellectual accessibility in heritage sites and develop design guidelines to overcome the same and make these sites accessible to all.

Heritage and visitor management strategies based on UNIVERSAL DESIGN have been suggested in this research project to enhance the heritage experience to all types of people in the society including the physically impaired, cognitive impaired, speech impaired, vision impaired, hearing impaired, elderly people and pregnant women. 

STUDENTS VISIT AARUSHI,BHOPAL : A center for mainstreaming people with disabilities

During the visit to Bhopal for NSDC 2012, Universal design elective students visited ARUSHI, a Bhopal-based not-for-profit organization working with and for people with disabilities and issues related to them. The basic objective of their work is to generate opportunities and develop capacities in people with disabilities.

Run by a passionate social activist- Mr. Anil Mudgal, the architecture of the center has been very thoughtfully designed keeping in mind universal design parameters.

The vertical circulation within the building is through a nicely designed ramp and lift.The layout is very student friendly with colours used to distinguish levels and planes. The students also got to see use of tactile flooring in the indoors, appropriately designed railings, tactile maps and accessible toilets at the center. The staff working at the center being differently abled, even the furniture like the reception desk was designed such that a wheel chair user could work on it with ease.

The center is probably one of the very few buildings in the country that can claim to be fairly accessible to people with disabilities, and students were benefitted by the visit as they could see all the theoretical recommendations of barrier free design applied in a building.

BNCA competition entry shortlisted in NSDC: students visit SPA Bhopal

The competition entry sent by Universal Design elective students from BNCA has been shortlisted at the NSDC amongst more than 80 entries received from colleges across the country. Congratulations to the students!

More about the competition entry :

NSDC(National Student Design Competition) is organised every year by School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal under the leadership of Dr.Rachana Khare, an expert in universal design. The theme of the competition this year is  

UNIVERSAL USABILITY IN WORLD HERITAGE SITES.

The student group took up the World heritage site of Ellora Caves and under the mentorship of Prof. Kavita Murugkar, studied the accessibility status of the site by applying various research methods like access audit, physical mapping, walk and talk audit and visitor surveys.

On analyzing the data collected, students came up with a design proposal to enhance the heritage experience and accessibility considering different types of visitors- abled and disabled by incorporating Universal design principles. The design proposal was prepared at two levels - for the entire site and for an individual cave, thus addressing the issue in whole and part.

Final Jury and UD workshop at Bhopal :

The students and Prof. Kavita Murugkar visited SPA Bhopal for the final round of the jury and also attended a Universal Design workshop the next day, specially organised by SPA Bhopal for the finalists.The workshop was conducted by SPA faculty members at the world heritage site of Sanchi Stupa. Differently abled students were also a part of the workshop, thus enriching the learning experience for all students. All the shortlisted competition entries were displayed at an open exhibition put up by SPA at the competition venue for both the days.

Students at work

UD Workshop at Sanchi stupa

Competition sheets displayed at the exhibition at SPA

ELLORA CAVES : Visit and Study for Universal Accessibility at the heritage site

Universal Design elective students of year 2012 have participated in the National Student Design Competition (NSDC 2012) organised by SPA Bhopal on the theme UNIVERSAL USABILITY IN WORLD HERITAGE SITES. The group under guidance of Prof. Kavita Murugkar have chosen to work on World heritage site of Ellora Caves. 

This study is a part of the research project granted by the BCUD, University of Pune to Prof.Kavita Murugkar

After studying existing literature about the heritage site and collecting background information, the group made a 3 day visit to Ellora caves in August'13. Extensive study of the existing condition of accessibility of the caves was carried out at the site. Students also conducted a walk and talk audit with two persons with disabilities from aurangabad. Thanks to them for participating in the study !

After systematically analysing the observations, students worked on design interventions that can be proposed to enhance universal accessibility.

The suggestions were worked out at the master plan level as well as individual cave level, keeping in mind the bye-laws that govern interventions at heritage sites. The proposal included having an onsite interpretation center,amphitheatre for sound and light show,  tactile stone models, provision of battery operated coaches for movement within the site, hydraulic lift to take visitors to vantage points, use of audio compass for informed navigation and all in one visitor facility blocks at regular intervals. Apart from the above ramps, railings and signages have been proposed such that they do not negatively impact the heritage value of the site and are reversible in nature.

The proposal has been submitted for the NSDC , Bhopal and students are awaiting the first round of results....

LIBRARY ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN BNCA

BNCA Library has developed a special section on books related to Universal Design, Barrier-free architecture, Inclusive spaces and Enabling environments. Following below is the list of available books :

BNCA STUDENT'S SENSITIZED ON DISABILITY THROUGH SIMULATION EXERCISE

As a part of the Universal Design elective subject conducted by Prof. Kavita Murugkar, students had to undergo an experiential exercise-SIMULATION to understand the environmental barriers one may face in a differently abled situation. Students had to experience two forms of disability - physical and visual. The students experienced spaces as wheel chair users and as visually impaired users by moving on a wheelchair and moving blindfolded respectively.

This 2 hour exercise completely transformed them and brought about lot of realizations! It was a emotional experience for all of them alongwith lot of empathy generated towards the underpriviledged sections of the society. They realized that their very favourite college building was actually very inaccessible from the viewpoint of disabled students. This also created an understanding of how 

ARCHITECTURE CAN ENABLE AND DISABLE..........

READ RESPONSES OF STUDENTS AFTER THE EXERCISE :

DEVASHREE TRIVEDI

For the simulation exercise, we were blindfolded and also experienced being on a wheelchair. Being blindfolded was tougher experience out of both. Our sight is the first sense we use to perceive everything around us. When I was blindfolded, there was darkness all around as I was deprived of the first sense I use to recognize and perceive my everyday surroundings. I began to  realize with every step how difficult everyday activities must be for the blind. It also made me appreciate that such people,  inspite of being blind, carry out their day to day activities with such ease and refuse to be dependant on others.

When I was in the wheelchair, again I realized that I don’t appreciate how blessed I am to be normal and to be able to walk and move around on my own.

Thus, the simulation exercise was a real eyeopener for me. It made me realize the need to be  considerate of all kinds of people in the process of design. It also made me fully appreciate being blessed with my sight and other senses.

ANERI SHAH

When I experienced being blindfolded, other senses heightened. My memory suddenly seemed to play an important role and my mind became active.

For a while, I could hold up my confidence and try and recollect the memory of having been there before. But in less than few minutes, after stumbling into barriers I lost my sense of direction  and confidence.

It was like reaching a breaking point, more mentally than physically, having to concentrate on every step.  The simplest of all things, walking seemed like such a hard task. It brought down my  courage.

One hand holding the stick and taking care of the barriers at ground level, the other hand taking care of the barriers at eye level. What about the obstruction over head level? What about having to carry bags?

After I opened the blindfold, I couldn’t express my gratitude for having back my vision. Being able to see, seems simple and is much taken granted for.

I felt like a boon to have all my senses, to be able to do the simplest of things.

CHITRA PUROHIT

The simulation exercise was a different experience all together. We often see physically challenged people around us, but fail to understand their problems. By actually doing the same we realized their difficulties and the smallest of problems. Any kind of disability seems difficult for us,  but they do not consider it to be a disability. Instead, they accept it as a challenge and make it their strength and strongest point to fight with the world. This exercise helped challenge our other senses. When one was not in use I realized that other senses work even more efficiently.

But at the same time, I felt equally bad after experiencing it. When I was blindfolded and given astick, it was the most difficult moment. All of a sudden there was darkness around me and sound, touch n smell were my only guides. Everyday the distance I cover in 2-3 minutes took me 10-12 minutes when I was blindfolded.

Going through this exercise I not only understood the problems faced by the disabled people, but also got an idea of solving them. It will surely broaden my thinking in terms of the factors to be considered while designing.

MANASVI RANAWARE

Simulation is about experiencing a different environment, its advantages and the impediments you come across, and different ways of tackling with those barriers. Our exercise on simulation gave us a chance to experience the environment around blind people and people with physical disabilities.

a. People with visual disabilities use a stick as their support, which helps them to some extent, be it feeling the texture, understanding the change in level difference (staircase) or to recognize any obstacle coming across.Senses play an important role in case of people with disabilities. They tend to recognize people with their voice, not only people but the  horn of vehicles, door bell, etc

b. People with physical disabilities use a wheelchair to travel or as a tool to walk, the wheelchair has a break as well as a handle to change the direction in case of uneven surfaces or slopes as it becomes difficult to climb. This exercise helped us to know the barriers faced by people with different disabilities.

ELECTIVE ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN - BARRIER FREE ARCHITECTURE AT BNCA

This year onwards, students of 4th year B Arch shall be also be given UNIVERSAL DESIGN as one of the choices for electives. The elective shall be conducted by Prof. Kavita Murugkar.

Making CONSTRO 2012 accessible for People with disabilities

CONSTRO is a mega-exhibition on education and awareness about latest construction technologies, machinery and innovations. It is the largest of it's kind in the country and organised biannually by the PUNE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING RESEARCH FOUNDATION (PCERF). 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 under the aegis of PCERF.

This year, she has taken initiative to work towards making CONSTRO universally accessible. Since CONSTRO is visited by thousands of citizens, it is necessary that it incorporates barrier free design to also enable  disabled groups to take advantage of this event.

She made a presentation to all the organising members titled

EDUCATION THROUGH EXHIBITION FOR ALL.

With support from the Exhibition layout and infrastructure team, and with suggestions from Prof.Kavita Murugkar, this years CONSTRO was made more accessible and people friendly.

Simple exhibition layout, ramps alongside steps, levelled pathways, colour contrast to distinguish different areas, accessible toilets and a disaster management plan were some important aspects incorporated in this exhibition this year.

BNCA students conduct ACCESS AUDIT of important public buildings in pune city

Pune is upcoming has one of the next metro cities in the country, developing as a global hub for education, culture, IT and medical care. People from all over the world wish to live and work in Pune and consider it as one of the most livable cities in the world.

BUT IS THE CITY REALLY LIVABLE FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE DISABLED PEOPLE ?

DOES THE CITY AND ITS BUILDINGS OFFER A BARRIER FREE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL TYPES OF USER GROUPS ?

With such questions and many more, a group of sensitive students and Prof. Kavita Murugkar conducted a quick visit and access audit of some important public buildings in the city.

The buildings chosen were - Bal Gandharv Auditorium, Sasoon hospital, PMC building, Fergusson college and 

The observations were very disappointing and showed the ignorance of this aspect while designing and maintaining public spaces in the city. The access audit identified that in most of the places, basic barrier free design provisions were absent and wherever present - they were faulty in design and detailing, thus making them unproductive and unuseful.

Need is to reform the design practices and bring a paradigm change in the way we have been shaping our world. Need is to move from the standard/average to the least common denominator and offer more choices and flexibility in our designs.

Find below some illustrations of the problems identified :

BALGANDHARVA  THEATRE

CHATURSHRINGI TEMPLE

PMPML BUS STAND

SASOON TEMPLE

ACCESS AUDIT of BNCA college building

As a part of the elective on BARRIER FREE ARCHITECTURE, 4th year B Arch students were given an exercise to conduct access-audit of their own college building. They were guided by Prof. Kavita Murugkar.

The students identified various physical barriers that a differently abled person may face while moving in the building and documented them on physical maps. After the audit, they worked on probable solutions to overcome these barriers. Layouts and sketch up views were made to demonstrate the proposed changes. The main areas where design interventions are proposed are the entrance / exits to the building, staircases and toilets.

Students referred to national and international standards for barrier-free design and used them in their designs.

SYMPOSIUM ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN ORGANISED WITH PCERF

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.