| Title |
A Study on Application of Universal Design Principles to Outdoor Community Spaces in Apartment Complexes |
| Authors |
Lee Hyo-Chang ; Jo Yoo-Jung ; Kwon So-Young ; Ha Mi-Kyoung |
| Keywords |
Community Space ; Universal Design ; Application |
| Abstract |
Nowadays, the average population in our society is getting older. Also, the residents have high expectation and desire of their outdoor community spaces within their apartment complexes. However, community spaces in current apartment complexes are planned uniformly without consideration of the resident's needs. With higher expectations, the community spaces of apartment complexes need to be designed and they must consider all age groups and physical appeal. Executing Universal Design will be able to increase satisfaction and can provide a unique and comfortable environment for all residents. The purpose of this study intends to evaluate the applicability of Universal design on outdoor community spaces. Research was done examining 15 different apartment complexes in Seoul, which were all built after the year 2005. Through site visits to these complexes, the application of Universal design principles were evaluated and measured by passage areas, play and exercise areas, rest areas, and entry ways. As a result, the study found that the use of application of Universal design principles in the outdoor community spaces of these apartment complexes was relatively low. Also, the community spaces only met the minimum legal regulations and codes for the complexes, and did not consider all demographic groups, such as the disabled, or the blind. Finally, Universal design regulations and design guidelines need to be updated to provide a change in new environments to satisfy all users. Applying Universal design will improve usage of the community spaces' and better designs can increase the quality of resident's lives. |