Anthology introduces universal design as an interdisciplinary discipline in Denmark

Editorial Board: Anne Kathrine Frandsen, Leif Olsen and Inge Bonfils

In Denmark, universal design is best described and most widely used in architecture, design and product development. This will be discussed in the anthology “Universal Design — Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Theory and Practice”. The anthology is written and edited by the interdisciplinary research network under the Bevica Foundation's Universal Design Hub partly as an introduction to universal design in a Danish context, and partly as a cementation of the fact that universal design as a principle crosses a wide range of disciplines: pedagogy, management, communication, policy development, job design, IT and much more. And that is exactly what is needed, says Camilla Ryhl, Director of Research at the Bevica Foundation.

Universal design is more than architecture — it's a new way of thinking

Universal design is about seeing the world with new glasses
- Camilla Ryhl, Research Director, Bevica Foundation

“Universal design, as a multidisciplinary and value-based concept, represents an opportunity to see the world in a new way and ask the right questions before embarking on a task in a particular discipline, so as to bring in as many people as possible from the start — no matter what task you have to solve,” she says.

If you are, for example, a teacher or educator and working with children, the universal design principle can help to make visible any blind spots in relation to how you really understand, for example, a child with a disability or a diagnosis. The same could be true in management. In IT and communication, it can help to make some users visible that you would otherwise forget.

“Universal design is about seeing the world with new glasses. When designing or building, it's about creating equal solutions that everyone can use regardless of functional ability. The same is true in other disciplines, although the solutions are not necessarily physically visible,” says Camilla Ryhl.

New anthology shows the way to a more inclusive society

The anthology is the latest step in the lineage of the Bevica Foundation's Universal Design Hub, which aims to provide knowledge about universal design across a wide range of disciplines, and that is precisely what is important, says Marianne Kofoed, the Foundation's Director. “The anthology is important for the Bevica Foundation because we believe that if we succeed in implementing universal design at all levels of society, we are one step closer on the fact that people with disabilities can have an active and equal life as others without disabilities. The many professionals who have provided knowledge to the anthology show that universal design can be the positive tool and prism to use when shaping the society of the future.”