Universal Design

Table of Contents1. What is Universal Design?2. Range of Motion3. Wheelchair Experience4. Does This Comply?5. Sensory Deprivation6. Spatial & Sensorial Memory7. Hospital Routine8. Guerilla Project: Access TCAUP9. Lesson in Pathology10. Pathology’s New Home

Douglas SharpeUniversity of MichiganTaubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning2nd Year Architecture Graduate Student

My interests in the discipline of architecture lie primarily in the realm of digital production and the development of projects through methods that include digital fabrication, parametricism and rapid prototyping. I am fascinated with the creative talents that architects possess, and through the advent of new technology we are able to extract our ideas from the purely digital computer model and rapidly produce a physical object that we can then study, analyze, or to simply have available to convey our concepts to others.

I believe there is massive potential for the rapid production of objects to improve the quality of the built environment, and a perfect example of this potential occured in our own Universal Design course. Through the collective talents of our classmates and professor, we were successful in our desire to quickly realize a series of concepts and witness the immediate positive impact that occured - accomplished with the aid of digital production and rapid prototyping.

1.1What isUniversal Design?

My interpretation of Universal Design is the careful consideration to design a space, product or device to be equally occupied, experienced, or operated by persons with all abilities, disabilities, or limitations, alike. The course that we have opted to enroll in has introduced us to basic concepts of Universal Design which will encourage us to explore its potential and to be critical of situations where there could be a stronger presence, such as with products that we examine in class or through examples found in our own building.

Our task this week was to measure the human body of each of our classmates and to then test our capabilities with a series of objects and products. We were focusing on the difference in body types being able to handle the rigors or complications posed by different objects. Examples include a taller person having less difficulty lifting a portable table, a person with smaller fingers being able to penetrate more holes in a wooden block, or somebody with a longer arm could reach further into a drawer. One device that was more accommodating for all users was the adjustable rolling chair, which allowed for a user to make adjustments as needed to allow for a more comfortable working environment.

The difference in the chair compared to the other objects was that users were able to adjust it on demand, while the other objects were permanent in their dimensions/weight and required that the users operate them as-is with no exceptions. This seems to reinforce the theme of Universal Design, to provide an object that is flexible which can be adjusted by users to fit their individual body types.

Architecture 509 | Design Analytics for Ability in Architecture

Folding Table - posed challenge toshorter people

Desk Drawer - posed challenge to shorter arm length

Adjustable Chair - accomodated all users

Wood Block - posed challenge to larger hands/fingers

2.1In an effort to test and document range of motion of the human body, we were tasked with comparing the range/extents of our classmates performing different activities with a variety of equipment and utensils. At the first station we recorded the extents of a person swinging a tennis racket and a golf club. The conclusion we found with these items is that different people have a different posture with their swing, as well as different techniques in holding the racket and club. The difference between holding a tennis racket and golf club is that on the approach swing that my partner, Research Subject ‘Q’, held the golf club 19” away from her body’s center, and the tennis racket was 25” from center. On the follow-thru swing, the golf club was at 21” away from center and the tennis racket was 17.5” from center. The measurements indicate that different devices require the body to adjust itself relative to the proper motion of the swinging device.

The next station was standing on a ladder that faced a wall, and then measuring the distance that our partner was able to reach in all directions. The results from this test proved that there is a limit at which point a person becomes uncomfortable while standing on the ladder and reaching out, but the greatest factor in determin-ing the distance a person can reach is based on their height. However, there was an exception with reaching underneath the ladder – everyone, regardless of height was reaching in very close proximity. The picture provided on the next page repre-sents the full range of motion of Research Subject ‘T’, while also providing visual reference to the extents of other test subjects.

The ladder presented its own set of drawbacks and the most notable issue is the bar that extends upward, which we assume that this bar functions as a handle used for carrying the ladder when it is folded up, or moving it after being unfolded. The bar was an issue for when the user was trying to bend down and reach low, caus-ing the user’s knees to collide with the bar. If the bar is intended to prevent the user from being able to maneuver themselves into an unsafe position, then there could at least be some padding on the bar to soften any impact that occurs when the user’s body comes in contact with the bar.

Another topic of discussion for the ladder is to implement more forms of stabilizing or allowing for the user to gain better balance. If the low-rising bar were to come up higher, that could allow for the user to grab onto it for support. This support could also allow for the potential of improved performance as the user may be able to reach out further without worry of losing his/her balance.

Range of Motion


Research Subject ‘T’ on Ladder

Roleplaying is a useful method to experience a routine through sombody else’s perspective. The exercise for this week required us to perform routine tasks in the architecture building; however, we were also required to experience those tasks while in a wheelchair. The purpose of this exercise was to make us – as designers of space – more aware of the possible hardships that a disabled person may encounter as opposed to the daily routines that abled bodies take for granted. We were given several tasks, but in this section I will reveal the tasks that deal with a wheelchair user’s limited line-of-sight, the restrictions of being able to reach certain heights, and noting the adequate/inadequate surfaces to perform tasks such as writing or working on a laptop while in a wheelchair. The tasks included engaging with faculty in the admissions office, checking a faculty mailbox, and the final task of fetching a newspaper from a media rack.

The first task, meeting with two faculty members in the dean’s office, revealed the difference in a desk that was more wheelchair friendly than the other. One desk, occupied by Laura Brown, proved to be more ideal due to the fact that she sits at eye level with somebody sitting in a wheelchair, while the desk itself is low enough for a wheelchair user to be able to read papers on her desk and be able to write on a sheet of paper if needed. The other desk, occupied by Stacey Shimones, while proving that somebody in a wheelchair could see and talk to her, he/she would not be able to read a paper lying on the desk, nor would they be able to write at her desk because the surface is too high to perform those functions. The flaw in Stacey’s desk is evident, and the concept of Universal Design would suggest that a simple solution would be to lower the height of the table surface. In the pictures on the adjacent page, the dashed blue line indicates eye sight from wheelchair user, Research Subject ‘Y’, to faculty, and the red highlights the desk heights.

3.1Wheelchair Experience


Research Subject ‘Y’ at Laura Brown’s Desk

Research Subject ‘Y’ at Stacey Shimones’ Desk

The second task required us to check our professor’s mailbox. Based on the observations during this task, we agreed that the height of the mailbox was reasonable for someone in a wheelchair to access; however, the other mailboxes on the upper levels were impossible to reach. The person’s line-of-sight was also restricted to mailboxes that are slightly above eye level, but any higher and the person cannot see if there is any mail in the box or not. The simple solution to this could be that a faculty member in a wheelchair would be assigned a mailbox that is in an ideal range, but that would change the method of alphabetizing the mailboxes and could make it difficult for an unknowing person to be able to locate the mailbox to deposit mail for the faculty member. There is also a problematic scenario that if the mail were to be put in the wrong box, the faculty member in the wheelchair would not be able to search other boxes that are out of his/her range.

An additional consideration to note is the ability to approach the mailboxes, where in the hallway a side approach is possible which allows for the disabled person to be closer to the mailboxes. In contrast, the mailbox area on the other side allows for only a front approach due to the tight space and clutter that had accumulated on the ground – this reduces the reach of the wheelchair user. In the pictures on the adjacent page, the dashed blue line indicates eye sight from wheelchair user, Research Subject ‘D’, to our professor’s mailbox, the yellow highlights the sight range for reading other mailboxes and/or checking for mail in those mailboxes, and the green highlights the reach extents of the wheelchair user.

As can be witnessed from the images, a person in a wheelchair is not able to see or reach other faculty mailboxes. Also, the limited approach could make it very difficult for the person to be able to reach towards the very bottom to retrieve a large package. Think about another potential scenario where the person delivering the mail was bound to a wheelchair - the mailman or a student. Would they be able to perform their job or accomplish their task of delivering mail at the existing faculty mailboxes?



Research Subject ‘D’ at Mailbox Front - Wheelchair side-approach is possible

Research Subject ‘D’ at Mailbox Rear - Wheelchair front-approach only


The final task was to retrieve a newspaper from the media rack that is at the main entrance of the architecture building. Access to this area of the building is not difficult and is made even easier with the use of a push-button that automatically opens the door to allow for a wheelchair to pass through. There were two notable issues demonstrated by the media rack. The first is that the rack is too high for a wheelchair user to be able to see what newspaper he/she is grabbing. The solution would be to display the current newspapers on the wall to reveal which stacks of newspapers are in the unviewable pile. That brings up the second issue, there is a wall available for this; however, the display wall is only used as a bulletin board littered with flyers that have no affiliation with the newspaper stacks located beneath the bulletin board. The pictures on the next page reveal the issue with the height of the rack highlighted in red, and the blue highlights the bulletin board that has the potential to improve the situation if newspapers were on display here.

Some additional thoughts in regards to the shortcomings of the architecture building include the types of water fountain fixtures and the location of the elevator. The third floor has two types of water fountains that proved to be very dissimilar in that one of them is wheelchair accessible and the other was not. The water fountain that was not accessible was impossible for somebody in the wheelchair to use, as was witnessed by the futile effort of Research Subject ‘Y’ to be able to drink from it, which lead to noticeable frustration and ultimately succumbing to defeat.

The location of the elevator in the building was brought to our attention the more we needed to use it. Most of our tasks occurred on the west side of the building, while the elevator is located completely opposite and on the east side of the building. Having to travel many times from the east to west side proved to be excessive which prompted us to imagine how much more convenient – less travel distance and time saved – that an elevator on both sides of the building would be for a disabled person.

To conclude on our experience, after performing tasks from the perspective of a person in a wheelchair, this gave us a new way to think about designing spaces for users of all types. The lessons learned while participating in this roleplaying exercise allows us to gain direct insight in how wheelchair users experience the world – and as we learned, it is certainly different than what we are used to. Universal Design can be better understood and addressed while taking on the perspectives of the wide range of users who inhabit and/or interact with our designs and creations.


Research Subject ‘D’ at Main Entrance

Research Subject ‘D’ at Newspaper Rack

This week’s exercise required us to document the doors and handrails in the Art & Architecture building and determine if they meet ADA compliance. Our team was assigned to the second floor and we focused on the doors and handrails on the architecture side of the building. Documenting doors and handrails certainly raises our awareness to the challenges posed to users who are disabled, and an additional component to the exercise was that we were to tape our thumb down and then try to operate the non-compliant ADA doors.

The doors in the Art & Architecture building are equipped with two different types of door handles – one is ADA compliant while the other is not. The handle that is compliant is a lever style handle which was relatively easy to open even in unconventional ways such as using a fist and elbow. With our thumbs taped and not available for use, we were still able to open the door with using only the four fingers. The non-compliant handle, which was a round knob style, was not nearly as user-friendly to operate, and to our amazement we documented dozens of these doors just on the second floor. The images below are a collection of the door hardware that can be encountered on the second floor of the A&A building.

What we learned from the knobs is that they were impossible to operate without the use of our thumb. We could also assume that a person without a hand would have even more difficulty to operate, and the solution would be to replace all knob doors with levers. The majority of the doors with knobs were found on the doors of faculty offices, and all mechanical room doors appeared to be equipped with knobs. The problem is that users, not just the faculty but anyone who could come into contact with these doors could have a difficult time operating them. This would include students who meet with a professor, visitors to the building, and even custodial

Door Handle Types. Knob, Lever and Push-button

4.1Does This Comply?


workers and maintenance persons who are required to enter these rooms.The school has not been required to replace all of the doors with compliant handles and there seems to be no logical pattern as to why some doors have levers and some have knobs. Perhaps this is because some of the knobs or the entire door has been replaced over time due to wear and tear. Should there be a concerted effort by occupants of the building to deliberately break the knobs so that they would all be replaced with compliant door handles? Is this the only way for the building to become fully compliant, by damaging the existing hardware in question?

There are other benefits to providing lever handles – not just for use by a disabled person – but for being able to open the door while carrying objects in your hands. The knob always requires a fully functional hand, and instead the lever could be opened by extending just one finger while carrying objects such as toolboxes or architectural models and materials. The sets of images on the next two pages are all of the doors on the second floor which are ADA non-compliant – 32 in total that we located, but there are many more on other floors and sections of the building.

Another task that we were given was to test the force required to open the doors. All interior doors were in compliance by not exceeding 5 pounds of force; however, the larger exterior doors – required to not exceed 8.5 pounds of force – had some that passed and some that failed. We did notice that the exterior doors that required more than 8.5 pounds of force were equipped with a push-button that would automatically open the door, shown in the image below.

Exterior Door with Push-button

Non-compliant ADA Doors on Second Floor



Non-compliant ADA Doors on Second Floor

The other part of the assignment was to document the handrails that were located in the building. We found two unique handrail conditions on the second floor that did not appear to be code compliant. One handrail was at a ramp in the urban planning computer room and the other rails are those on the stairs. The handrail in the urban planning area appeared to have two features that did not meet code specifications. We measured the handrail at a height of 32” above the floor, but the code requires that the handrail be at height no lower than 34”. Another issue with this handrail is that it is 2” in diameter when the code requires that handrails do not exceed 1-1/2”. The image below shows the ramp handrail in question.

Handrails in Urban Planning Computer Lab



The other handrails in question are those located at the stairs in the building. There are two completely different types of handrails at the stairs, with one being a large wooden handrail and the other is a typical metal circular handrail. Beginning with the wooden handrail, the height above the floor was okay with a measurement of 35”, however the top of the handrail that is used for grabbing was 3” in width. If somebody were to try and grab the handrail in an emergency, we could only imagine that it would be too difficult to grab and would lead to disaster. The other handrail at the stairs has multiple issues, and the first is that the height is more than the code allows, at a measurement of 32” above the floor. The other issue is that there is a distance of 2-1/4” of space between the wall and the handrail. This could cause a serious injury if somebody were holding onto the handrail and ended up slipping on the stairs. The person’s arm could end up sliding between the wall and rail, which might lead to a broken arm or something more serious. The images below show the handrail conditions at the stairs.

Second Floor Stairs

Wooden Handrail Metal Cylindrical Handrail

Everyone, at some point in their life, will experience some type of deterioration of their senses. This week’s exercise required us to simulate the experience of sensory deprivation while performing a series of tasks. We were asked to wear very thick and loose gloves which would prove to be a challenge with grabbing objects or pressing tiny buttons. We were also asked to wear eye goggles that were fogged up with soap and this was to hinder our ability to see the tasks at hand. Each task posed unique challenges and the sensory deprivation allowed us to experience how certain disabilities affect people while they are performing tasks that are considered ordinary.

The tasks we were given required a very high level of precision to accomplish, however the gloves and the goggles made things much more difficult. One set of tasks were especially difficult because of the lack of feeling in the fingers. Those tasks included stringing beads with letters onto a piece of pipe cleaner, twisting a screw into a block of wood, and taking apart and reassembling a multi-piece instrument. The pieces of these tasks were very tiny and the oversized gloves were giving everyone issues because we were not able to know if we were properly pinching the objects or that we had a sure grip on things. Sometimes if you would grab the piece, the excess material of the glove would not allow for the object that was between our fingers to be put into another object. Pieces were difficult to pick up and sometimes without the proper grip we were constantly dropping the objects, only adding to the frustration.

The previously mentioned group of tasks was done with a smudge in the center of the goggles which made vision a little bit more difficult. The way we adapted to the visual impairment was to look through the sides of the goggles using more of our peripheral vision since looking straight forward was not an option. The visual impairment was a lesser factor to the difficulty of the tasks, while the gloves were much more difficult to adapt to, making successful completion of the tasks extremely difficult.

One task that was different than the others was using a standard calculator while wearing the gloves. My partner was the one punching in the numbers but I was able to witness the challenges and frustration that he was exhibiting. He was not able to feel the buttons, and the gloves would sometimes hit buttons he did not intend to push. He was also having difficulty seeing the output display, but he was unable to pick up the calculator to adjust the angle so he could see the display. The gloves were the problem when he tried to hold it as the calculator became unstable, and he also unintentionally covered up the solar power bar which made the output display shut off.

5.1Sensory Deprivation


Another task different than the others was to look at the face of a domino and draw it on a piece of paper. With the fogged up goggles, I had to put the domino to my face to make out all of the dots. The toughest part of this challenge was drawing the domino on paper. I was not able to put my face as close to the paper as I could with the domino – the paper had to stay flat on the table in order to draw on it. The final result of the drawing was not pretty, the profile lines were not very rectangular and the dots were not drawn in alignment. Because I was not able to properly see what I was drawing, I was relying partially on memory and the resulting drawing indicated that there were issues with the artist’s abilities.

Some lessons learned from this exercise is how people are affected by loss of senses and how it could affect their daily lives. I believe that people who work in manufacturing would be the most affected by deteriorating vision and problems with losing feeling in the hands. Now that we have firsthand experience, I do not have to imagine what somebody who is assembling small components would be going through. Somebody in this situation would probably be required to have corrective eye surgery to fix the blurring issues; however, I cannot think of a way to alleviate the hand situation as I would assume that it would be caused by irreversible nerve damage. There might be other occupations that would prove to be a constant challenge for individuals whose senses are declining.

A response to these issues from an architectural standpoint would begin with how people with vision problems might be able to navigate through a building. One solution might be to provide some sort of color contrast on the surfaces, such as a bright strip on a white wall, or floor, that could help somebody navigate from one space to another. In addition to high contrasting colors, the walls could also include strips of a texture that a person can use to feel their way to the desired room. The implementation of an accent wall at key locations of the building – this could be exterior or interior – such as a lobby or entry, or main gathering area on the interior, those walls may act as a beacon for a person to be able to easily distinguish from other non-important spaces or areas. Even if a person has blurred vision, they will know the location that they can walk to and perhaps meet up with a receptionist or help desk, where they can then be given further instructions or offered assistance to help them get to where they need to go inside of the building.

Consider the next series of images which represent the difficulty that an individual might have with their vision and being able to find their way through a hospital. The first type of way-finding device is the typical signing with text and arrows. Depending on the severity of loss of eyesight, an individual might be able to make out some of the text, very little, or none at all. Compare the text and arrow method to the next series of images, where the way-finding system is a very bright color scheme on the floor which directs patrons to different areas of the hospital. Notice that even the most severe eyesight disability is still able to differentiate the colors which provides for successful navigation to a desired location.

Text Based Signage for Way-finding

5.2Sensory Deprivation


Contrasting Colors for Way-finding

Memory serves us well, and this week’s exercise required us to create drawings of our current home and also of a home that we grew up in as a child. In addition to the line drawings we were also asked to represent sensorial experiences – sound, smell, sight – and document where those occurred in our drawing. In our current home, we were asked to document the sensory stimuli that we had experienced that morning, and in the drawing of the home that we grew up in, we were to document the locations of sensory stimuli that were the most prolific and easily recalled from our memory.

The ability to abstract objects and space is unique to humans, as we can recall a place or event from our past and be able to communicate the memory through many outlets such as speech or drawing. Some may be better than others in their ability to reveal an abstract idea by being a good story teller or an accomplished artist. In our exercise, because we are all architecture students, we were able to develop images that made sense in our lexicon of representational methodology, such as a basic floor plan with the inclusion of symbols for doors and furniture. I knew my classmates would be able to understand my floor plans, such that they could tell the difference between my bedroom and a staircase, and that allows them to know the basic layout of my domicile without actually being there. However, since they have not been there then my classmates lack all associated sensorial qualities that could only be experienced on location.

How we choose to represent our own domicile could differ between all people, with one major factor being which room you choose to start with when asked to draw an entire floor plan, or which rooms you draw in detail, or which ones you draw more accurately. My method for this exercise was starting from drawing my bedroom first and then the rest of the rooms came in the order of adjacency to my room – this was the case for both current home and childhood home. Since I have many more personal memories and more time spent in my bedrooms than any others in the house, those might be reason enough for why I chose to start by drawing them first. I would hypothesize that my classmates may have chosen to begin with their bedrooms first, and would go further by assuming my roommate would start by drawing his bedroom first and that my brothers would draw their bedrooms first. Recalling spaces in this manner could reveal how we experience spaces and buildings, for example if you ask somebody to draw plans for a building that they visit for the first time, would they start with the progression that the moved through the building and draw the foyer first and the last occupied room would be drawn last? I would probably do just that. And what about the details? We would probably be able to recall more details of a room that we spent more time in, such as the details of cabinets and tile patterns in a waiting room, but might not remember exactly the paintings hung on the walls of a corridor that we quickly moved through. These are mostly the visual aspects of experiencing space, and the same could be applied to other sensorial data collected from sound, smell and even taste.

6.1Spatial & SensorialMemory


In regards to our exercise, we began by drawing our current home and also indicated locations where we remembered a scent, heard a sound, and spent time looking at something. I live in a 2-storey townhouse that includes a basement in the Northwood IV area at the University of Michigan. After drawing my bedroom first, I then drew the rooms in which an activity occurred, such as the morning routine that occurs in the bathroom and also spending a short period of time using the computer in the office. Based on the sensorial experiences I revealed in the drawing, one could probably put together a timeline and determine that I was describing a typical morning routine since I listed the sound of a radio, the sound and smell of a shower, and looking into a mirror. There is one ambiguous activity of looking out of the window, and only a further description of why I was looking out of the window or what I was looking at – it could have been for many reasons. I was looking out of the window to see what the weather looked like so that I would be properly clothed when I left the house for the day. I would say that everything else noted on the drawing is obvious as to the activity that was occurring just based on the smell, sound and visual descriptions.

Floor Plan of Current Home and Sensorial Recollection

The second part of the exercise was to draw out the house that we grew up in. I lived in a single-storey, 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom house in Tampa, Florida. It took me a while to recall the layout and be able to draw it because I have not lived there since 2001. I was also having a very difficult time recalling any sensorial memories associated with my house, and the ones that I eventually did recall seemed fairly random. Some of the items included noises where the television and stereo were, and where my brothers would make a lot of noise and wake me up. The smells were very random, and included where we kept the garbage cans – it was my chore to take care of trash – and also the smell of cleaning supplies in the bathroom because that was another chore of mine. Other smells included our pool that had a distinct chlorine smell, and even though I spent many years in my bedroom, the only distinct smell I can remember is where I had pet hamsters and gerbils. One very welcoming smell was from the kitchen where Mom was always cooking for the family, and the dining table I labeled as the smell of Thanksgiving because we only used the dining table once a year and it was for that special occasion. In regards to viewing, during the exercise I was not able to think of where I spent a majority of my time looking at something. But now that I had some time to think, I would put a viewing cone in the living room where I watched television, and I would also put a viewing cone at the southern window where I would look to see if my ride had arrived to pick me up for school, swim practice, or to go out and have fun.

6.2Spatial & SensorialMemory


Floor Plan of Childhood Home and Sensorial Recollection

Doctors have a unique way of working, and this week’s exercise required us to visit the University of Michigan hospital to witness first-hand the environment in which medical professionals operate in and the facilities that are provided for their patients. Our group was assigned to the SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit) and we arrived during a period in which a group of doctors were evaluating each patient in their unit. There was a definite hierarchy in terms of experience and decision making, and the distinction came down to doctor, resident and intern. The method in which they perform their duties was that they were all working on machines that they refer to as a ‘COW’ (Computer On Wheels) and they would move those machines to the entrance of each patient’s room while they discussed the condition of the patient and possible treatments for further surgeries. Each patient had an attending nurse, so at when arriving to each individual patient the doctors would include the nurses in on the discussion. The nurses provided crucial information such as the patient’s vitals or perhaps how the patient responded to treatment or a prescribed drug.

The COWs are an essential tool that each doctor was using to enter information to a real-time database. If one doctor typed in information, it would then update for each doctor to be able to read it immediately or be able to refer to it at a later time. The COWs are a vital tool for the doctors to perform their duties; however, the machines were very bulky, they cluttered up the hallways and in some cases the COWs needed to be plugged into a wall or it would lose power. Some machines had longer battery life than others, so priority for a wall outlet went to the machines that were known to lose power quickly. The picture on the adjacent page shows the COW machine and its user.

7.1Hospital Routine


COW Machine and Users

Notice in the first picture on the next page that we are in the hallway and the doctors and machines are now completely jamming up the hallway. This space is needed to wheel patients to/from surgery and to their room, and to also allow patients to walk from their room to other locations as needed. At one point, I witnessed a patient being escorted by a nurse, while using an assistive walking cane, having to be detoured through the nurse’s station. The nurse’s station that is against the wall is narrow, and is a gauntlet of hazards from chairs, electronic devices, power cords, supplies, etcetera all posing a risk for anyone to navigate – making this a very dangerous route for the patient to have to maneuver through.

There is difficulty in proposing a solution to this problem because it appears that the technology of the COW has been fully adopted and is the only method for the doctors to perform their duties. It would be impossible to justify that the entire unit would need to be gutted and redesigned just because the roving equipment does not fit well in the space. Even if the space were to be redesigned, who is not to say that a few years down the road there will be a different type of COW – whether it be bigger or smaller – which would then once again render the space as inadequate.

Other areas of concern that I witnessed were the signage that was haphazardly placed throughout the unit. One instance is a warning sign that was placed on the floor which reminds anyone who enters to clean themselves before they interact with patients. The fact that the sign is telling people to be clean before entry is a justifiable reason to have the sign in the first place; however, the issue is that the sign itself is constructed using materials that could pose a threat. The blue tape, for instance, could end up being peeled away after it has been stepped on or been cleaned, which may lead to a sticky surface being exposed. Somebody then walking on this sticky surface, or coming in contact with shredded pieces of tape, their foot could become unexpectedly stuck and cause the person to trip. It would only seem reasonable that a world-class facility like University of Michigan’s hospital should have a better solution for ground floor signage instead of using blue tape and a sheet of paper for their warning signs. Refer to the second image as a testament to my proclamation for better signage.

7.2Hospital Routine


Doctors and Equipment Congesting the Hallway

Poorly Conceived Floor Signage

We need to make a statement about the issues found within of our very own building if want to have any credibility for calling ourselves architects that care about occupants of the built environment. The task for this week was to implement our concepts of way-finding and accessibility throughout the Art & Architecture building. The entire class participated in what we proclaimed as our Guerilla Project, and the purpose was to raise awareness to some fundamental issues that currently exist within our building. We felt that awareness was crucial because most occupants of the building do not even realize that there are issues that exist – even our own class was surprised by the problems that we uncovered through our initial investigations of the building.

The first major focus of the guerilla project was to create and display signage that had to do with accessibility. This included a sign at the building’s northwest entrance front door, a very prominent and highly traveled entrance, which displayed the distance that the nearest elevator was located relative to the entrance. For somebody who requires the use of an elevator, from a wheelchair to a walker, the distance that they are required to travel is absurd; additionally, there is not even a sign that reveals where the elevator is located. The sign is not just about telling people how far away the elevator is, but there is also an indirect message that there should be another elevator located much closer to this main entrance.

8.1Guerilla Project:Access TCAUP

Elevator Location and Distance Signage


Another type of signage that raised awareness for accessibility was used on the doors throughout the building. We created door placards that were hung from the handles of the doors throughout the building. The placard had either a check mark or an ‘X’ on it, indicating that the door was either ADA compliant or if it was in violation. The doors that had lever handles received a check and the doors that were equipped with spherical knobs were given an ‘X’. At closer inspection of the placards, one could read the reason why the door was in violation, indicating the relevant ADA code. There was also a written challenge which asks them to make a fist with their hand and then attempt to open the doors that were equipped with knobs. Between the colorful placards and the challenge, we believe that awareness had been raised in regards to the amount of doors in violation while also revealing why some building occupants may have difficulty opening doors in our building.

Door in Violation

Violation Explanation and Challenge

Door in Compliance

Guerilla Project:Access TCAUP8.2

The other major component that we emphasized in our Guerilla Project was way-finding and navigation throughout the Art & Architecture building. Most people are familiar with seeing the floor plan of a building with a “you are here” text, but it may be difficult to find the places where you need to go on the floor plan and if the destination is far and on a complicated route, it would be easy for people who are unfamiliar with the building to become lost along the way. Consider the image below, it is an evacuation plan, it is not located in a prominent area, and it is one of the few way-finding devices provided within the school. If one is fortunate enough to even find this sign, they might be able to figure out where they are but anything further such as finding his/her way to a certain room will prove to be difficult. As a testament to insufficient way-finding devices, often many people will approach students and ask “How do I get to _________?” If people are relying on the method of asking students where to go, then how useful is this sign and how successful are the building’s way-finding methods as a whole? To further emphasize a point, ask a current student where this sign is even located and you may get a blank response. I found the first and second floor evacuation plans by accident, and I assume there is one on the third floor of our building but I still do not know where it is mounted.

?Second Floor Evacuation Plan


As a response to the building’s insufficient way-finding devices, our class purchased plastic vinyl sheets and cut out symbols for destinations, which we placed at the main entrance of the building and throughout the building at major intersections. The destinations depicted by the symbols included the architecture main office, lecture hall, media center, faculty mailboxes, and we also included numerals that pointed to the areas where a range of room numbers are located.

We feel that our efforts were only the beginning of how to properly implement way-finding strategies in a building, while also raising awareness for the accessibility related issues. The response from our fellow classmates was positive and we were encouraged in knowing that they were curious about our project and once they were informed of the building’s issues they fully supported our efforts. I felt satisfaction in knowing that we did raise awareness, and perhaps our methods will be embedded in the minds of the future practitioners that our architecture program is sending out into the world.

Way-finding Signage Examples

9.1Lesson in Pathology

The exercise for this week was to research the medical profession of pathology at the University of Michigan Hospital. Our class was provided very valuable insight into pathology by meeting with one of the tenured doctors of Anatomical Pathology, and we were even given the opportunity to tour their facilities which helped us understand the sub-specialties that are associated with the discipline of pathology.

The basic definition of pathology is that it is the study and diagnosis of disease. While we were meeting with the doctor, he explained how the profession has evolved over time and that a major shift has occurred in how pathologists perform their diagnoses with new technology. We understand that pathologists mainly deal with slides that contain samples of bacteria, which are dyed with color for contrast, and are observed through a microscope. This is a traditional method and as the doctor explained, this is gradually being replaced by more digital methods for analyzing samples, where slides are essentially scanned and saved as a digital computer file.

Digital Image of Specimen


Digital files replacing the slides and microscope has its advantages, such as a digital file cannot be lost or damaged during transport, and the scanned sample will not deteriorate over time. There are also inherit disadvantages with digital files and the first issue is that the size of just one file can reach over one gigabyte in size. The reason for such a large file is because the sample is scanned with a very high resolution so that the pathologist analyzing the sample can zoom in on the image while not sacrificing quality of the image. The issue with the file size being so large is that it will require a large database to store the files, or require remote access to a server that hosts the file. If a pathologist loses internet connection or if the remote server goes offline, then it will be impossible for the pathologist to perform his or her job until a connection can be re-established.

Another issue with digital files is the output device, currently this is a computer monitor, which is not an ideal situation for a pathologist to analyze a sample. All pathologists are used to the traditional microscope from its visual interface to the ability to rapidly zoom and focus with its dials. There is a completely different methodology that occurs when the pathologist attempts to recreate a similar experience by using a mouse and computer monitor.

Traditional Microscope and Specimen Slide

Multi Viewing Microscopes

10.1Pathology’s New Home

The final project for the course was to document the existing conditions of the Pathology Department with the intention to design a new facility for the department. The class was divided into multiple groups and our group focused on documenting the overall hospital and for locating all individual pathology departments. We were tasked with obtaining hard line drawings while also taking notes on a more personal manner of how far, and how much time is required for a pathologist to travel between locations such as offices to specimen labs, and to other points of interest that are common in their daily routine.

The initial investigation for our task was to document the University of Michigan Hospital in a broad context, noting the locations of other major hospitals throughout Michigan and the neighboring states. Another map was created to indicate a 200 mile radius, with Ann Arbor as the center, in which the medical evacuation helicopters, known as the Survival Flight Services, will travel to transport patients from the scene of an incident and deliver them to the hospital. The 200 mile maximum travel distance of the Survival Flight Services is equivalent to the geographic distance between Ann Arbor, MI and Chicago, IL.

Other Hospitals Relative to University of Michigan Hospital


200 Mile Radius of Survival Flight Services

Survival Flight Services Helicopter


Satellite Image of Hospital Complex

300’N 600’



Our investigation of the overall hospital and the current conditions of the pathology department has led us to the development of an analysis diagram, displayed on the next page. The pathology department is completely fragmented and is comprised of two major components - offices and frozen section laboratories. There are currently three locations for the pathology offices, and three locations for the frozen section labs. During our interview with one of the department heads, we were able to understand their daily routine, beginning with the pathologists arriving at the parking lots, indicated with a ‘P’, which is where the majority of the Pathology Department commuters park their cars. From the parking lot, the journey to either the offices, marked with an ‘O’, or the frozen section labs, marked with an ‘F’, occurs and throughout the day it is common for those in the department to travel from office to office, or from the office to the frozen section labs. The diagram indicates the typical routes that one would take to travel from one location to another. Also consider that the frozen section lab located the furthest to the north handles the creation of the specimen slides, and those slides are then distributed to the offices or other frozen labs for examination or for storage. In addition to the pathologists having to travel long distances, the inner-office deliveries, such as the carts used to transport the cache of slides and other specimens, are also required to travel those long distances.

Other points of interest on the diagram are the orange section marked with an ‘H’, which shows the location of the Survival Flight Services helicopter pad, and the teal section marked with an ‘N’, which is the location for the new building that the Pathalogy Department will be relocated to. After discussion with the department head, she indicated that the new facility should include all of the offices, a prominent frozen section lab, and an abundance of flexible space. The benefit of having offices near frozen section labs is that if a doctor needs to reference a specimen, or have another examination of a specimen, he or she can do so without having to travel to other locations or to request the specimen to be delivered at a later time. This will also allow for a specimen to be available for a panel of doctors to view samples or case studies and discuss the results immediately in unison. The request for flexible space is obvious - as witnessed by the existing layout - that if the department needs to grow, it can do so without having to fragment offices or labs throughout the entire hospital complex.

One final note for discussion in regards to the overall context of the hospital is the daunting task of way-finding throughout the facility. Through our research, we were only able to uncover very generic plans that had been posted on the hospital’s main website; however, those plans are very shortcoming with providing detailed information and, in our own experience of navigating and documenting the hospital with only these plans, they are not a reliable device. The difficulty occured mainly from interpreting what the plan conveys as compared to the actual conditions. A sampling of these plans have been provided on the adjacent page.

P

PP

O

OO

O F HH

NNNNNN

F

F


Diagram of Existing Conditions

Floor Plans Provided by the Hospital’s Website

Documents

Universal Design