Universal design is a necessary cultural shift

In the social housing sector, people tend to do things the way they have always been done. There is a need for a cultural shift in a sector that houses a diversity of people, and universal design can help drive that change. This is the view of Bent Madsen, CEO of the National Building Foundation (Landsbyggefonden).  

"We are very conventional; we do as we have always done. And as we did before that. Can we do it a little smarter? It’s not more expensive, it’s just smarter. And that is exactly what might make it more difficult," he notes.

In Denmark, one million people live in social housing, and the National Building Foundation works to improve life in the social housing sector. The foundation provides support for renovations, new construction, and social housing initiatives, and also contributes data and knowledge.  

Working purposefully with universal design

As a means of making social housing and residential areas more inclusive and usable for everyone, the National Building Foundation works purposefully with universal design.

One of the initiatives is a strategic partnership with the Bevica Foundation, where the focus is precisely on spreading and implementing knowledge about universal design. The collaboration aims to ensure that universal design is considered a fundamental principle in the transformation of social housing areas, our cities, and in all aspects of social housing.

Universal design is design for everyone

It is about creating solutions that are varied, flexible, and robust, so that homes and the surrounding areas offer equal, high-quality, and secure environments throughout all stages of life and for all people, regardless of their functional ability.  

The goal is to create physical environments that make everyday life easier for those who need it most, while also working well for everyone.

"It’s good for everyone, but it is very necessary for some of us. And as we see more and more elderly people, we can see that the proportion of us who will need adjustments in our homes is growing in the coming decades," he states.

In doing so, he also points to how demographic trends are helping to increase the need for universal design.  

More and more flexible housing types

According to Bent Madsen, within what we might call conventional accessibility, we only have four housing categories in Denmark: housing for young people, family housing, housing for the elderly, and nursing homes. Therefore, the National Building Foundation (Landsbyggefonden) is considering whether we should have many more housing types, and whether they should be more flexible and adaptable to the specific needs of different residential areas. From a universal design perspective, this last point—adaptability—is perhaps the most important.

"We are now looking at whether we should have many, many more different forms and types of housing than what we might call conventional housing, nursing homes, and so on, which can be adapted more specifically to different residential areas?" he says.

In other words, one of the key questions is how to develop a systematic approach to universal design in the social housing sector.

"We need to find an approach to universal design that can be repeated and scaled time and time again," he concludes.

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More info 

The National Building Foundation (Landsbyggefonden) works to improve life in the social housing sector and has a core mission to future-proof residential and urban areas where people can live and thrive together. The social housing sector operates on a non-profit principle, with community at its heart. The overall purpose of the National Building Foundation is to promote the sector's self-financing and create the best possible framework for development throughout the entire social housing sector. The foundation was established by social housing organizations and is funded by their contributions. 

Read more about the National Building Foundation and its work 

The National Building Foundation and the Bevica Foundation have entered into a strategic partnership to strengthen universal design in the social housing sector and contribute to ensuring that universal design is considered a fundamental principle in the transformation of social housing areas, our cities, and all aspects of social housing.  

Read more about the partnership between the National Building Foundation and the Bevica Foundation

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