Universal Design is an architectural term that is credited to Ronald Mace, an architect, product designer, and professor. Mace taught at the School of Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was the visionary behind Universal Design. He dedicated most of his life to creating a more accessible world with design. Now, this design is the bedrock of all architectural endeavors.
Phaze Concrete is proud of the advancements that have come from Ronald Mace’s work on Universal Design. The company uses this concept in their work daily and is now explaining the benefit of it. There are three basic concepts that makeup Universal Design. The first is aesthetics, the second is accessibility, and the third is anti-discrimination. This trifecta has physically built the foundation of the building principals that are inherent in every building constructed today.
Aesthetics
Architects are artists, who ultimately, work for the people that use their buildings. Of course, everyone wants their buildings to look and function appropriately. Therefore, maintaining the look of a building, inside and out, is important. This is not only true for the architect, who wants to be proud of their work, but also for the public. It is important that buildings look nice. It is important that they can be maintained properly and with ease. Plus, it is important that they are safe for everyone. That is where the addition of Universal Design steps in.
Accessibility
Universal Design takes an aesthetically pleasing design and makes it accessible to everyone. This design makes it simple for people of any age or ability to be able to enjoy the building. Universal Design creates provisions that help people with disabilities or those that are pregnant, or elderly navigate a structure. This way, regardless of the restrictions a person faces, they are not restricted from enjoying or working in that structure. This helps promote anti-discrimination on a universal scale.
Anti-Discrimination
While many people now do not have much experience with structural discrimination, before Universal Design, it was a major issue. Before Universal Design, there were certain places that people could not go. The reason for this was simply because they had a handicap that disallowed them to enter. This made life extremely difficult for many people. Therefore, enacting Universal Design helped greatly reduce structural discrimination. In addition, the architectural movement helped to bring about change in other areas of the United States as well. The creation of Universal Design was a pivotal turning point in understanding and acceptance.
To close, Phaze Concrete works hard to complete this balance of art and accessibility. After all, Universal Design strives to ensure each, and every person can enjoy structures with safety and ease. The story and subsequent practice of Universal Design is an important and highly relevant part of architectural history. It is a moment to be proud of and a concept that deserves recognition. Additionally, it is proof that quality and accessibility do not overshadow artistic design. Instead, the concept determines that aesthetics and anti-discrimination practices can work in harmony to create something beautiful.
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