ACCESSIBILITY

in Urban Design and Architecture

Fany & Ankel CERESE

Architects
Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Montpellier
(France)
 PREAMBULAR

French accessibility rules

PREAMBULAR / french texts of law

It relate to every disabilities :

. Motor disability (wheel chair,…)

. Senses disability (blindness, deafness, hearing-impaired,…)

. Mental or psychic disease (autism, trychomy, schizophrenia,…)

The accessibility rules

concern :
. Outside and public spaces

. Common transports

. Public and private equipements everywhere public can go (shops,

museums, schools, universities, hotels, restaurants,…)

. Collective accomodations

. Single houses built to bell rented ou sell

 INTRODUCTION

From rules to use comfort…

INTRODUCTION / notion of « situation of
handicap »

The space creates, limits or deletes the situation of handicap:

. Every place imposes its constraint: physical, psychological, economic, …

. Every individual, every user has his own capacities: physical,
psychological, economic, …
Any gaps between the constraints of a place and the capacities of the
user create a " situation of handicap " by hardness or impossibility.
INTRODUCTION / notion of « situation of
handicap »

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INTRODUCTION / about motor disability

Dimension of a wheel chair : 0,80m x 1,30m

Returning area of a wheel chair : Ø 1,50m
highness to catch sometning : 0,90m to 1,30m
Highess under table for wheel chair : 0,70m min
INTRODUCTION / about sight problems…

« valid » person sight

Vague vision Central vision Peripheral vision

INTRODUCTION / about blindness…

For the bling persons :

. Need of marks : tactile, sound, olfactive...

. But which do not break the continuity of the

chaine of movement

For the partially-sighted persons :

. Need of contrast

. Of clear information

. Good lighting

Blindness
INTRODUCTION / needs of hearing-impaired
person…

For deaf people :

. Need to feel reassured (in case of fire)

. Need to have access to the information, in particular sound:

. Sound information doubled by visual information ( sound alarm)

. Need of a good lighting

For the hearing-impaired people :

. Need of audio systems (like magnetic buckle) to have access to the

sound information

. Need of acoustic quality treatment so that spaces are not too noisy
INTRODUCTION / to communicate with a deaf or
hearing-impaired person…

Stand in front of him

Don’t talk to him since an other room

Minimize the back noises

Don’t dazzle him !

…
INTRODUCTION / think about old people…

Everyone is going to be old

Important problem of the ageing of the population in Europe

An old person is representative because multiply

handicapped person :

. Motor problems
. Sight problems
. Hearing problems
. Demency problems (Alzheimer desease,…)
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RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR CONCEPTION OF
SPACES
GENERALITIES / same access for all

Everyone should be able to take the same

way

Continuity in the chain of movement :

. If the accessibility is hard to obtain everywhere, a reserved adapted

car park must be planned near the equipment and connectedwith this
one by an accessible progress
LOCATION AND GUIDE
LOCATION AND GUIDE / Signalling system

Localization of signals :

. Signals adapted at the enter of public equipment

. Signals adapted near to car parks

. Signals adapted to each intersection

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LOCATION AND GUIDE / Signalling system

Legibility of information :

. Be strongly contrasted with regard to the bottom of the support

. Height of the characters of writing:

> 15 mm for the ÈlÈments of information relative to the orientation
> 45 mm otherwise

. Resort as much as possible to icons or to pictograms (normalized if they

exist)
LOCATION AND GUIDE / Guide ligns

Location :

. Visual and tactile contrast of the cover of the progress with regard to the
environment, to the defect a continuous and tactile mark, contrasted (band of
guide)
LOCATION AND GUIDE / Guide strip

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LOCATION AND GUIDE / outside guide strips

1 2
LOCATION AND GUIDE / inside guide strips

1 2 3
LOCATION AND GUIDE / entrance of equipments

Location :

. Main entrances have to be ocatable as architectural element or different

materials or visually contrasted

1 2
HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION
HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / widths

Width except any obstacle :

. Width mini ≥ 0,90 m

. Good width ≥ 1,20 m to 1,40 m

. Width for 2 fwheel chairs ≥ 1,60 m to 1,80 m

. Horizontal in the slope near ≤ 2%

HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / widths
1 2

Mobilier hors
cheminement

120 min.
140 min.
140 min.
HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / widths

Rotation space :

. Area Ø 1,50m in every choice of direction as well as in front of entrances

by an accessible way which contain a system of access control.

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HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / projections

Dimensions allowed :
. Projections ≤ 2 cm
round or with chamfer
. Projections ≤ 4 cm
with chamfer with a
slope ≤ 33% (tolerance)
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HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / projections

Projections :

. Minimal distance between two projections is 2,50 m.

. Successive projections forbiden (tile paths)

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HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / slope

Percentage :

. Slope ≤ 5%
. Slope ≤ 8% on a length ≤ 2m (tolerance)
. Slope ≤ 10% on a length ≤ 0,50m (tolerance)
. Slope > 12% = danger !!
. Width of the access ramp 1,20 m minimum
. Horizontal in the slope near ≤ 2%

10 %
HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / slope

Half landings :
. Slope 4%<x<5% with half landings all 10 m
. Dimensions 1,40m x 1,20m
. Landing at the bottom of the access ramp
. Landing at the top of the access ramp

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HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION / slope
SAFETY OF USAGE
SAFETY OF USAGE / dangers

Equipment in projection :

. If obstacle to the ground or in projection furthermore of 15cm on the way,

the element of visual contrast and tactile reminder or continuation of the
obstacle to the ground is needed

. If suspended obstacle, to leave passage free in at least 2,20m of the ground

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SAFETY OF USAGE / dangers

1 2
SAFETY OF USAGE / dangers

Glazed walls :

. Locatable by contrasted visual elements

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SAFETY OF USAGE / glazed walls

1 2
SAFETY OF USAGE / pedestrians and cars

Crossing pedestrians / cars :

. Strip of awakening of attentiveness for the pedestrians

. Road marking of pedestrian crossing for cars
. Marking on the ground
SAFETY OF USAGE / pedestrians and cars

Bande de guidage

Bande d’éveil de vigilance (B.E.V)

SAFETY OF USAGE / pedestrians and cars

Poteau repérable

B.E.V.
Bande de
guidage
AUTOMOBILE
CAR PARK
AUTOMOBILE CAR PARK / number and signals

Number :

. 5 % of the number of places for the occupants (rounded off in the superior
unit)
. 5 % of the number of places for the visitors (rounded off in the superior unit)

Road marking :

. Marking on the ground of the adapted places

intended for the visitors
AUTOMOBILE CAR PARK / dimensions

Dimensions :

. Width ≥ 3,30m

. Horizontal to the slope near ≤ 2%

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AUTOMOBILE CAR PARK / continuity in the way

Accessible way:
way:

. Connected with the entrance of the buildings or

with the elevator by an accessible way without
projection ≥ 2cm

. Horizontal on 1,40m minimum from the place

AUTOMOBILE CAR PARK / dimensions

1 2
VERTICAL CIRCULATION
VERTICAL CIRCULATION / outside staircases

At least 3 steps :

. Width 1,40 m minimum between 2 banisters

. Maximal height of the steps : 16 cm

. Minimal width of the step de 28 cm

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VERTICAL CIRCULATION / outside staircases

At least 3 steps :

. Continuous, stiff banister, easily to take from part and the others between
0,80m and 1m of highness
. Contrasted banister overtaking horizontally of the 1st and the last step
VERTICAL CIRCULATION / outside staircases

sont requis pour visio

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VERTICAL CIRCULATION / outside staircases

Location :

. Floor covering contrasted visually and tactilement (Strip of awakening of

attentiveness ) in 50cm of the first step at the top of the staircase

. Not slippery contrasted nose of step

VERTICAL CIRCULATION / outside staircases

2
Nez de marche
1 contrasté et anti-
dérapant

Double
main
courante

B.E.V.
Main courante dépassant ?
VERTICAL CIRCULATION / lifts

Characteristics of the elevator :

. Entrance 80 cm

. Depth 130 cm

. Width 100 cm

. Sliding doors needed

. Commands heigth between 0.90m and 1.30 m

. Precision of stop 2cm maximum

Location :

. Signals easily visible

. Visual and sound information for the floors and the alarm
VERTICAL CIRCULATION / lifts

4
COMMAND SYSTEMS AND
EQUIPMENTS
COMMANDS AND EQUIPMENTS / dimensions

Spaces for use :

. Space of usage 0,80m x 1,30m in front of every equipment

. Height between 0,90m and 1,30m for manual commands

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COMMANDS AND EQUIPMENTS / location

Location :

. Locatable equipment and furniture by visual contrast or particular lighting

. Command of visible lighting in the daytime and at night
. Sound and visual signal connected to the functioning
LIGHTING
LIGHTNING / intensities

Illumination measured on the ground :

. 20 lux min on each point of the accessible outside way

. 100 lux on each point of the horizontal inside circulations
. 150 lux on each point of every staircase
. 50 lux on each point of the pedestrian circulations in car parks
. 20 lux in quite other point of car parks
REGLEMENTATION / Eclairage
Let’s Open Cities for US !

Let’s integrate « design for all »

concept …