What is the purpose of Design for All?
The purpose of Design for All is to promote social inclusion, through a design attentive to the needs and desires of people - with and without disabilities -. With the Design for All process, the complexity of reality finds its synthesis in spatial solutions for all, where constraints become opportunities for exploitation.
The inclusive project expresses, in its material representation, ethics and beauty, because a space designed to free movement, to facilitate dialogue and relationships with the context and between users is, without doubt, the product of a responsible aesthetic research.
What is the difference between removing architectural barriers and Design for All?
With the removal of architectural barriers, accessibility problems are solved with specific devices that are inserted to project executed. These are ad ho c solutions resolve the mobility problem but often fail to dialogue with existing ones.
Hence, the implementation of specific accessibility measures has often generated solutions that
are disconnected from its context and aesthetically unbalanced in the architectural ensemble.
A common example is the arrangement of an access ramp a posteriori. If it's not fully incorporated into the facade, it will look like an extra element rather than being part of the building's composition.
With DfA you can immediately design spaces for everyone, usable without the need for specific measures and harmonized in the architectural body. Thanks to a complete approach with a broad and diversified contributions (architect, client, specialist, user, etc.), the final product represents the conscious outcome of needs and desires, of all.
What is the purpose of having a DfA Centre in Switzerland?
Design for All places the individual, his dignity and the diversity that makes him unique within the society in which he lives. By ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2014, Switzerland has committed itself to removing the obstacles - physical and cultural - that people with disabilities encounter, to protect them from discrimination and to promote equal opportunities and integration into civil society. The Design for All Competence Centre concretises this commitment, transforming into real and visible actions what is contemplated in the articles of the Convention.
Where can I find the technical specifications used for designing?
Contact Arch. Caterina Cavo at info@designforall.ch
Do you focus solely on architectural design or do you also work with other disciplines?
A barrier-free environment is useful for all generations and to foster participation and self-determination of individuals (with and without disabilities) within society.
In the future, the Competence Centre will expand its activities in different areas, focusing on finding inclusive solutions in the field of information, services and design products.
