How to improve accessibility in buildings
Within the architecture sector in the field of rehabilitation, one of the common jobs that technicians can find is the removal of architectural barriers in communities of owners making private buildings more accessible to users who live in them.
It is no longer just about projecting a disabled ramp in the community of owners, in the accessible building There are many other aspects that we have and we must take into account to project a coherent reform that will provide an adequate use for those people with possible handicaps or deficiencies.
In this article we want to see and delve into which are the weak points in the accessibility over existing buildings and its architecture, what we can do, how we can collect the data by means of specific files and finally how we can obtain an indicative budget easily and quickly for the removal of architectural barriers in a certain building Let's start! …
Accessibility problems in buildings
Have a global perspective of what the main accessibility problems in existing and private buildings or in an architectural element it is necessary to know what we are going to act on.
First we have to understand what the architectural barriers are, and then we will act accordingly to eliminate them
The three requirements that every building must meet to achieve a minimum of sufficient quality in its design and performance, favoring and facilitating the development of user activities in it. Those requirements are related to:
- Safety, both of the structure and of the whole in the event of fire, as well as that derived from the prevention of dangers throughout the use of the building.
- Habitability, taking care of the issues of hygiene, health and protection of the environment, and providing the ideal conditions of isolation and protection against the weather and external agents.
- The funcionality, in relation to the predisposition and dimensions of the spaces for their use by each and every one of the people; and related to the rest of the possibilities and services provided by the facilities and other endowments, including communication.
The following scheme plans theelimination of architectural barriers in communities of owners, a very useful summary guide:
Most of the regulations applied to a accessibility guide They are intended to cover certain needs on common users, such as children, people with reduced mobility, the elderly … ect. So we have a relationship of users, who have a series of difficulties that will require specific accessibility measures.
Schematically, we would have a Difficulty - Measure to implement - User Type relationship. That we can see clearly typified in the following very useful scheme:
As a point of legislative and standard information before the accessibility in existing buildings. In the case of Spain, the indications would be governed by the Technical Building Code by means of CTE DB SUA which are the procedures and rules rules that allow compliance with the basic requirements of security of use and accessibility. You can consult the complete documentation from HERE.
Building accessibility limitations
Another point to highlight is that we cannot always do what we want in an existing building, given its architectural, space, structural limitations … etc. The elimination of architectural barriers in communities of owners is a priority!
These aspects will always be taken into account in the reform or rehabilitation project (Remember that when we carry out a work, we must place the correct signage and informative posters of occupational hazards) where the limitations to the use of the building in relation to the final degree of adequacy achieved and that must also be taken into account by the owners of the building and the owners of the activities.
Data collection for the reform project
We want to add a series of technical sheets for data collection in situ that will provide us with the relevant information before drafting the project. Although the following sheets are aimed at complying with Spanish regulations, due to their consistency in data collection they are applicable to other countries and are very practical.
Accessibility diagnostic sheets in residential buildings for housing:
Another useful scheme that we want to provide is the graph of types of users and their difficulties according to the parameters - distances of mobility that people need traveling, wheelchair users, with visual and hearing impairments, which are shelled in four points: (We also want to remember the architecture article for autism)
- Maneuvering difficulty
- Reach Difficulty
- Difficulty overcoming slopes
- Control difficulty
The following diagram will help us to have a global vision of what we can do based on the space we are visiting «in situ» to adapt it: (If you click HERE, a new window will open with the large image)
Cost of a rehabilitation for accessibility
In a generic way we can calculate the budget for a reform to adapt the community of owners to accessibility regulations with the inclusion of an elevator.
We have a tool for estimating costs for the removal of architectural barriers in buildings, an approximation of the economic amount that may be involved in carrying out the pertinent works in a hallway and the upper floors.
The estimate is broken down into two main components: on the one hand, the cost of installation / adaptation of elevators and lifting machinery is valued, and on the other, the necessary construction works to be carried out in the building.
Access to the tool HERE. To start with the calculations, you just have to click on the relevant image and the Building Address section is only indicative. (This application belongs to the IVE - Valencian Building Institute, so we understand that the values assigned for the pertinent works are updated)
The budget obtained by the application - tool It must be taken as a referencebecause, depending on the particular characteristics of each project under study, it may differ from the real cost of the intervention.
Remembering that from the article on free construction price bank consultations, we could determine a more exact amount on the case of action, but this shows a greater work that must be practiced by a professional in the sector.
Manuals and universal design
With the intention of improving the information in this article, we have wanted to provide different documents, materials and accessibility manuals to facilitate information on theuniversal building design.
They are PDF documents that have been released by different universities, corporations or institutions that will provide us with information and added value.
- Accessibility manual for municipal technicians … Information HERE. From the ONCE Foundation, very good with excellent drawings and technical details. Pure utility for writing projects.
- Manual of technical accessibility standards from Mexico… From HERE. A well-written 160-page PDF guide document that not only works in construction, but also delves into the urban environment; streets, sidewalks, roads, ramps … etc. (Be careful! The document takes time to load)
- Technical guide for people with blindness and visual impairment… From HERE (To download manual) ONCE Foundation.
- Technical guide on accessibility in buildings published by the Technical Code in Spain. Although it was published years ago, the technical guidelines provided are of quality. Consult from HERE.
- Others of interest in the universal design of public space, is from the Housing and Urban Planning Service of SERVIU (Chile). Access HERE (for the moment they have closed the portal) is to a lot of documentation and if we lower the cursor, we will see that downloadable Autocad detail plans are even provided for projects.
- Guide to an accessible city and its design criteria … Look from HERE. Highly recommended !!
In the event that more information is needed, we have already explained in a detailed article how to find PDF books and architecture documents for free to download easily and in detail.
Although we can recognize that the accessible design of buildings is much more complex than a simple article. We have tried to mark and provide relevant schemes to have a joint vision that helps us to work and plan reforms to improve access to a building.
As a complement, we also have a file and document search engine from HERE to expand the information. We hope it is useful!
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