We take the Convention seriously
Universal design represents a human view that recognizes that to be human is to live with changeable and diverse functional abilities throughout life.
Universal design does not divide people into a 'them' and 'us'; people with or without disabilities. Instead, the universal concept of design embraces the diversity of the human being and creates solutions that best embrace who we are.
Universal design also plays a central role in the UN Convention on the Disability of Denmark, which Denmark ratified in 2009, and with Denmark's adherence to the 17 UN Global Goals and the transversal principle 'Leave no one behind' in 2015, the importance of universal design in the interior of society has not diminished.
The Bevica Foundation's Director of Research, Camilla Ryhl, together with colleagues Marie Engberg Eiriksson and René Sørensen Overby, has written an introduction to universal design. It's a good place to start.
Our AI assistant will help you well on your way
American architect and wheelchair user Ron Mace developed the concept of universal design in the 1980s. His desire was to create solutions that create inclusion by integrating people's differences.
The original definition of universal design was:
Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.— Ostroff 2001
While Mace originally defined and developed the term as a design concept aimed at architects and designers, he was concerned that universal design was more than just a design solution. Therefore, in 1997, Mace set out to head a multidisciplinary American committee of experts with the aim of elaborating seven design principles for the concept, which could serve as an operationalization tool.
Later, the American researchers Edward Steinfeldt and Jordana Maisel developed eight goals for universal design. The eight goals focus on universal design as a process and inclusion tool rather than a solution.
Over time, the concept has developed and branched further, and today it crosses a wide range of disciplines.
At Bevica Fonden, we are dedicated to sharing knowledge about the concept across disciplines and practices, which is why we have developed an AI assistant that can help you sort and find exactly the knowledge you are looking for.
A catalogue of solutions
Bodies are diverse, as are the needs of different bodies. Therefore, universal design is sometimes one solution, but often it is a catalog of solutions. The key lies in ensuring equal solutions that meet the diversity of needs of people.
All people are different and come with different needs and bodily functions. Universal design is about embracing this bodily diversity and creating equal solutions for as many people as possible.
In practice, this means that sometimes the solution is assembled into one solution, while in other cases it is assembled into a catalog of solutions, so that the individual user can choose the solution that best meets the needs of the user.
Sometimes it is the use of the building, the user profile, the physical context or even the customer's value-based application that determines whether the universally designed solution materializes as a single solution or as a catalog of solutions. However, both solutions are equally universal.
- Camilla Ryhl, i bogen Universal Design in Architecture (2024)
Universal design in practice
Mindset
Universal design is a value-based concept. It represents a human vision that recognizes that we have a body in common, and that the body changes throughout life - temporarily or permanently. The understanding of universal design places architecture and the design of the environment centrally as a tool to promote inclusion and social sustainability.
Process
Universal design as a process integrates diversity and reinforces values in architecture by early and holistic implementation. It requires knowledge, communication and collaboration across disciplines and experiences to create inclusive and sustainable solutions that benefit both users and society as a whole.
Solution
The universal design solution can be both one solution or a catalog of solutions. As a solution tool, universal design opens up discussions about what an architect wants with his project - as a whole or as fragments of the big project.
* From the book Universal design in architecture by Camilla Ryhl (2024)