Accessibility in Public Buildings

The Harmonised Guidelines are comprehensive guidelines inclusive of all provisions updated and harmonized to act as an easy reference Practitioner’s Guide for Barrier Free Designs with universal access, responding to the varying needs of the persons with disabilities.

The Guidelines explicitly covers universal accessibility standards and responds to the varying needs of all users including those with reduced mobility. The Guidelines are effective tool for the executing agencies, planners, designers, contractors, civic agencies, development authorities and urban local bodies, etc. to pave the way for inclusive and accessible built environment.

The guidelines basically cover the following sections: -

1. ACCESSIBILITY

To enable Persons with Disabilities, live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States shall take appropriate measures to ensure access to Persons with Disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.

2. APPLICABILITY

The Person with Disability Act, 1995 mandates that persons with disabilities be provided with equal opportunities and protects their rights to full participation. This, therefore, requires that spaces be designed to suit the needs of all persons with disabilities. Also, Model Building Bye Laws, 2015 mandate that barrier free environments are maintained to ensure inclusive cities and universal designs.

The intent is to make buildings and facilities accessible to and usable by all people including those living with disabilities and may include those with inability to walk or difficulty in walking, reliance on walking/ mobility aids, blindness and visual impairments, speech and hearing impairments, limited-coordination of motor movements, reaching and manipulation, lack of stamina, difficulty in interpretation and reacting to sensory information and extremities of physical size.

3. ANTHROPOMETRICS

This includes dimensions that can be used for guidance when designing facilities and equipment to be used by Persons with Disabilities. Adequate space should be allocated for persons using mobility devices, e.g. wheelchairs, crutches and walkers, white cane etc. as well as those walking with the assistance of other persons.

4. CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS

All public buildings have to comply with accessibility requirements for Persons with Disabilities including government institutions, office buildings, residential buildings, commercial buildings, health facilities, restaurants, recreational and sports facilities, religious buildings and all other building types used by the general public.

Wherever waiting areas, coffee shops, display areas, merchandising departments, service areas, ticket counters, refreshment stands, etc. are provided for public use, these facilities should be accessible to all Persons with Disabilities and not just wheelchair users only.

In all buildings at least one unisex accessible washroom/toilet should be provided. In multi-level buildings all floors should have one such facility near the general washrooms.

General categorisation of building typologies is as follow:

Category 1: Residential

Category 2: Commercial (Retail Shopping Zone, General Business)

Category 3: Manufacturing

Category 4: Building open to public (public & private)

Category 5: Recreational

Category 6: Transportation & Communication

Category 7: Agricultural and Water bodies

Category 8: Special Areas

5. UNIVERSAL DESIGN ELEMENTS WITHIN BUILDING PREMISES

Each building and its site should be planned and designed as an integral unit from the very beginning of the design process.

6. SIGNAGE

Signs are important to people who are unfamiliar with their surroundings. They are to provide information. They can inform the user of a route, a hazard, or a facility. Signs also communicate an identity for the building or environment they serve. Signage contributes greatly to the aesthetics and first impression of a building. Signs must be clear, concise, and consistent.

A signage system also increases person’s awareness of their surroundings and aids orientation within the environment. The location of signs should ideally be part of the process of planning the building and environment.

7. ACCESS TO TOILET FACILITY

8. FIRE EVACUATION NEEDS

Provision of accessible means of egress from all public use areas and facilities is as vital a component as accessible ingress.

Alarm Panels, Alerting Systems, Evacuation Plans, Emergency Evacuation Routes, Provision of Refuge Areas & Signage should be well maintained and should be accessible.

9. ALIGHTING AND BOARDING AREAS

10. ACCESS AUDIT CHECKLIST

Many buildings and areas would require redesigning and retrofitting to ensure a barrier free environment for persons with disability and the elderly. A comprehensive audit checklist has been formulated to review the accessibility of spaces for ready reference.