Towards European requirements and guidelines for an accessible built environment:
An analysis of the "European Manual" from the Nordic experience.
Hans Örnhall, Boverket, Sweden
Background
Since the beginning of the 1970s, the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have been working together on guidelines for
building regulations for accessibility. These guidelines state the functional
requirements for accessible building. All buildings open to the public must
be fully accessible, while working places and dwellings can have a standard
of accessibility in accordance with the rules of the individual country.
Before this meeting, representatives of Finland, Norway and Sweden have
met to discuss the "European Manual".
The most important factor to be noticed is that our populations are growing
older and becoming gradually more disabled in the environment. According
to figures from OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development),
Luxembourg and Sweden presently have the largest share of old people. As
for the Swedish experience, at least 90 per cent of the elderly live in
their own dwellings and take care of themselves with the assistance of,
for example, municipal home help services.
Another factor to be observed is that, as in other European countries, we
are building only new dwellings in a scale corresponding to about 1 per
cent of the existing housing stock. As a result of this we should also discuss
the question of guidelines or a manual for rebuilding in order to get an
accessible society.
Critical remarks
To begin with we have the general point of view that, with the exception
of impaired mobility, all disabilities have been too briefly described and
dealt with in the manual. Impaired sight and impaired hearing are some examples.
Another one is the allergy problem, which must not be forgotten. We have
especially noticed that the problems with allergy are growing in a welfare
state.
There are also regional differences depending on the climate that must be
taken into consideration. For example we are of the opinion that all slopes
from 1:10 and steeper, when covered with ice or snow, are dangerous, even
if they are short.
Before getting into details we would like to emphasize the important principle
that future adaptation must be as easy as possible, which has not been taken
into consideration in the guidelines for bathrooms. As for our experiences,
guidelines should not contain design solutions.
The following aspects were mentioned in the Nordic discussions regarding
some details in the manual:
too many dangerous and doubtful solutions for stairs and ramps
details about contrast and relief are missing
space for stretchers are not shown
unclear design of platform lifts
the problem of the power needed for opening a door should be better
explained
revolving doors must be completed with accessible doors
unrealistic measurement (1.3 m) for staircases in ordinary housing
every accessible toilet must be equipped with a wash basin
very local design of kitchens, bathrooms and toilets
Conclusion
Our opinion is that the question of accessibility inside Europe or inside
the borders of the EC can not be solved through authorized handbooks or
guidelines. We propose that an Interpretative Document (ID) related to the
Construction Products Directive (CPD) and the Public Works Directive should
be prepared by the EC. This has been done in the other parts of the building
and planning area. If the Document follows the directives, it shall specify
the essential requirements in one part and the characteristics of products,
which can be exported, in a second part.
Moreover, I would like to mention that ECE has described the aspects of
accessibility in the compendium "Model provisions for building regulations".
In this compendium it is emphasized that the responsible authorities are
to stipulate what kind of buildings must be accessible.
Finally, we would like to express that in the manual there is good information,
especially in Part A. On the other hand, part B seems to be a result of
several compromises. The manual is one more in the row of informative handbooks
for architects and planners. However, if we intend to get a breakthrough
for an accessible society, such a document must be short and clear. As mentioned
above, it should be produced directly within EC. Suggested title "Accessibility
in Use" (to be compared with "Safety in Use" TC4/014). A
new EC legislation must also be creatively expressed in order to give possibilities
to achieve a higher standard of accessibility today as well as in the future.
