Conservative nature of Architecture in the Historical City center of Saint Petersburg and its’ influence on the architectural development of the city: Bridges - how to bring together Architects and Local citizens

Saint Petersburg is a second-largest city in Russia, having a population over 6 million people. Located in the northern part of the country on the edge of the Baltic Sea it was founded by tsar Peter the Great in 1703 as a future capital for Russian Empire. Tsar was wishing the new capital to become the most beautiful city in Europe and the city...

Enabled by Design: The Built Environment as a Tool for Human Enhancement

Historically, our society has demonstrated tendencies of exclusion towards those who misfit the norms. While there may be innumerable factors that come into play in these scenarios, such tendencies of marginalization seem to hold a strong connection to aspects of the built environment. As one of the many standardized systems in our world, design...

DIN 18 024 & 18 025: The development of barrier-free building in 1970s Germany

DIN 18 024 and 18 025, published in Germany in the 1970s, were among the first standards in Europe on the subject of accessibility in the built environment. The paper describes their historical context, reception and their effects on literature and practice.

DeafSpace and Disability: A research into DeafSpace design and its peculiarities in relation to other architectural adaptations for disabilities

Throughout history the built environment has mostly been designed from an able-bodied perspective, which causes a set of challenges for people with disabilities. In the 20th century however, a growing attention for disability in architecture took place that resulted in a shift in architecture. This thesis focusses on DeafSpace design and how...

Establishing shared positive moments between elderly caretakers and their families

In Europe and Asia, people face a significant aging society(Gilroy, R., 2007). In Asia, Taiwan underlies one of the most aging countries (Chan, A., 2005). To give care to elderly citizens, some Taiwanese elderly people live at home, while others live in a care institution. For those who live in institutions, they may lose the connection with...

Design of a safe, accessible and desirable shower system for the Korean market.

This master thesis concerns the user-centered design of a shower system for the Korean market. Starting from a Universal Design perspective, the aim was to take into account the needs and preferences of a broad user variety. User research showed that common Korean bathing habits were not supported by standard bathrooms. A showersystem was...