INCLUD. Inclusive & Universal Design
Keywords: Universal Design, Social sustainability, Inclusive decision-support system
Research unit: Prof. Stefano Capolongo, Design & Health Lab, Arch. Silvia Mangili (PhD candidate), Dott. Alessandro Morganti (PhD Candidate), Arch. Erica Isa Mosca (PhD, Postdoctoral researcher)
Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (DABC)
E-mail (referent): stefano.capolongo@polimi.it; ericaisa.mosca@polimi.it
INCLUD is a digital platform that assesses building’s performance according to Universal Design strategy through a new automatic framework of objective indicators. The tool can assess Physical-spatial, Sensory-cognitive, and Social qualities of spaces. INCLUD supports designers with effective strategies for both new projects and building renovations, while also guiding decision making processes to enhance inclusive and accessible environments for everyone’s diversities and disabilities. The performance-based tool assesses Physical-spatial, Sensory-cognitive, and Social qualities of buildings through a rating system based on a new framework of objective indicators, developed to effectively evaluate Universal Design. The tool can identify specific elements of outdoor and indoor spaces to be improved, to act on for increasing users’ inclusion and well-being as a decision support system. The tool is based on five years of scientific research, and due to its flexibility can be used for buildings of different typologies and complexity. Currently, it has been applied in Italian healthcare facilities as typology that takes together the broadest diversity of users with different needs. INCLUD allow reducing the number of structural and architectural interventions, reducing the overall environmental impact. INCLUD supports the design of spaces that consider also aesthetics aspects, such as colors, natural light, images, and greenery, that make spaces pleasant to users with and without disabilities. Thanks to its automated data collection, the digital platform reduces evaluation time and provides a scalable service. The development plan proposes to collect data using design software and hardware. These technologies will contribute to the automatic detection of both quantitative and qualitative information related to users’ experiences. INCLUD empowers decision makers to understand priorities of intervention, to enhance the social impact of inclusive cities for all people.
| Implementation: Year: 2021 Month: April |