Breaking down barriers: the Busch-Jaeger Intelligence Series

Frankfurt-based architect Ursula Fuss is very clear when it comes to the biggest pitfall of barrier-free building. 'There is a prejudice that is deeply rooted in our society: that people with a different way of life – I am deliberately talking about ways of life and not about disabilities – are basically in need of help.' This includes our ever increasing ageing population, but also those of us that solve different living challenges by themselves on a daily basis. The solution for Fuss: moving toward an inclusive approach to architecture and design on a basis of genuine interest and mutual dialogue. Where to start? By making sure planners consider their residents' needs from the outset of a project and invest in research, smart technology, and a creative interpretation of the existing guidelines.

In the 30 years that I have been doing this, I have witnessed certain changes in equality. But the whole issue of accessibility has only really developed since the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified in Germany in 2009. The difficult thing about accessible architecture is to make people understand what it's all about – not just looking at the disability. In my teaching assignments, I always say: you have to get away from thinking that people with a different way of life – I am deliberately not talking about disabilities here – are basically in need of help. You have to lose that perspective.

The only way to learn about functional contexts is to be prepared to actually ask questions about everyday life with physical impairments. These, in turn, are important for a concept that can lead to actually helpful barrier-free architecture. Accessibility can only be achieved through a good design concept. This should be taught much more at universities. But there are simply too few who can do it.

Many people who use a wheelchair don't even know what is possible in terms of design – they think it has to look the way it does. But when you explain other options, they are amazed. A folding support handle, for example, is wonderful. But what are the alternatives? In the bathroom, the support could also be on a wall next to the toilet, possibly with a small handle. All of a sudden, I’ve created a useful surface.

There are many such examples. What exists on the market is made nicely according to standards. But one should be aware that that same standard covers everything from weekend homes to nursing homes – and not everyone is a 24-hour care case.

I had just started working when that happened. Then I was in the rehab clinic with floor-to-ceiling cupboards and thought to myself, how are wheelchair users supposed to get up there? I decided then that things had to be different! I started to question things and to understand that every standard or guideline is only a recommendation and legally completely irrelevant. In fact, there is an important sentence in the DIN: ‘The protection goals of the DIN can also be achieved in other ways than those presented in the DIN.’

I have advised large architectural firms who asked me: Does that mean I can now build a nice disabled toilet? We are stuck in exactly this uncertainty. There are so many requirements in residential construction. In hotels, the number has practically exploded. The orientation in this confusion of regulations is then completed by the fact that very different things are required in the state building codes, and then there are technical building regulations – architects are lost.

It is important that access is possible for everyone equally. That is of course a question of planning, how you structure a building, how you set floor heights in relation to each other and so on. At the beginning, there is the access plan and then you can go into the individual areas to plan an inclusive living approach for people across different age and ability groups. I was once a judge in an architectural competition where I pointed out to one of the participating offices that the accessibility of their project was not where it should be. There were stairs and seating steps and wheelchair users were confined to the use of lifts.

For the next stage, I gave a recommendation: Work with a 5 % incline ramp, but without an intermediate landing. And then try to include us in the seating steps, at least in parts. They only tried it to prove to me that it couldn't be done. But then suddenly noticed that we were no longer thinking in the development mode, but were working in spatial mode. In the end, they opened up four floors plus a roof terrace. That's what accessibility is all about: creating new experiences with things that are familiar to all of us.

There is digital indoor navigation that can be used to make buildings accessible to people with visual impairments without laying guide strips. An app then tells you to within one metre where the door you are looking for is. Automated processes are also important: age appropriate assistance systems, intelligent building technology, and smart home applications are extremely helpful. However, technical solutions can also go in less pleasant directions. What I find very difficult are lifting platforms and stair lifts for wheelchair users. For one very simple reason: on the one hand, they are often extremely slow, and on the other, you are put on display in a very public manner.

Older people probably no longer learn skills such as orienting themselves based on acoustics as well as younger visually impaired and blind people. Nevertheless, they gradually get used to diminishing senses such as sight, hearing or balance. So the most sensible thing to do is to ask those affected what they need and to consider together what solutions can be found. When I explicitly plan age-appropriate living, I naturally plan it from the outset in such a way that it is possible to sit down at the washstand in the bathroom, for example.

One topic is the discussion about the height of light switches. Most older people do not necessarily end up in a wheelchair, but first walk with a walking stick or rollator. The crucial thing here is to stand securely. As soon as you have to bend down, you lose stability. If the light switches are positioned at a height of 85 cm and not 105 cm, there is a risk of falling – just because the light switch is too low. If wheelchair users are no longer able to lift their arm, then the lower height is of course useful again – but only in their own room. There are also all kinds of smart functions available that create comfortable and pleasant everyday situations and thus offer a maximum of support and assistance.

There is a useful overview that I think is the best: it's the Guide to Barrier-Free Building from the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building, which you can download for free. It is not so stringent, but emphasises that requirements can also be met through design.

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