Kristoffer Negendahl
Winner of travel grant of DKK 30.000.
Counting Everyone In: Unveiling How Numbers Can Foster Inclusion and Universality in Civil Engineering
This project needs to help facilitate and eliminate key limitations of Universal Design and LNOB by informing and actively altering (teaching) practice within civil engineering, specifically centered around computational building design and digital transformation of CAD and BIM to include Universal Design and LNOB.
This project is predetermined to “measure LNOB solutions” partly because it seeks to map LNOB solutions across building design principles and technologies to identify common areas of performance parameters and effects. Then it strives to develop computational measures for Universal Design thus enabling LNOB solutions to be evaluated (and thus optimized) in similar ways as other focused engineering practices aided by computational tools. Finally, it seeks to standardize LNOB in Building Information Modeling to further promote Universal Design as a fundamental engineering discipline.
Kristoffer plans to conduct his investigation at Buffalo State University and University of Montreal in Q2 2024.
Watch the pitch below.
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Kristoffer Negendahl
's investigation
Kristoffer has started his investigation in Canada. Below you can read posts along the way from his journey, in which he details his experiences and the insight he has gained thus far.
February 2024
March 2024
April 2024
Kristoffer Negendahl: Universal Design can be measured
By learning from other experts, lecturer Kristoffer Negendahl discovered how civil engineers can develop better solutions for people with needs.
Main findings
“I wanted to explore how Universal Design can be taken seriously in civil engineering. A way to illustrate this is fire safety. Everyone understands the severity of the situation if people can’t escape from a building in case of a fire.
In Denmark, we have regulations that require level access to your housing. In reality, authorities don’t comply with this. I decided to start a project with a master’s student, where we created a new method to machine-read regulations, such as the distance to the nearest fire exit. By making a simple experiment and showing how Universal Design can be measured, we can create better solutions and technologies.”
The use of Universal Design
“Traditionally, engineers aren’t taught in Universal Design. Therefore, I had to speak with other experts of different backgrounds.
With my own students at the Technical University of Denmark, I conducted experiments to try to consider people’s needs. In one example, I asked my students to design a universal door that allows people in wheelchairs to enter. We were able to measure what makes a door good or bad based on the principles of Universal Design.”
Why others should apply
“You should apply for the scholarship if you wish to create solutions for the future. As engineers, we have a great task ahead of us. But if you have the courage, you should definitely apply.”