School of Design

The discussion about underground spaces for office use has intensified during the past few decades, but the human reactions towards them are not yet well understood. Furthermore, most of the previous studies have been carried out in western countries. In the present study, Japanese office workers' psychological reactions to underground and above-ground offices were investigated with regard to the perceived importance of windows in the office, and the perceived lighting and visual conditions in the underground and above-ground offices. The study was carried out in the form of a questionnaire survey. The subjects were 22 employees in underground and 86 employees in above-ground offices. The results confirmed that windows were strongly desired in offices, especially by employees working underground and not having windows. The underground employees also evaluated their lighting condition more negatively than did the above-ground workers. Considering that type of furniture and colour scheme, as well as other environmental factors, such as type and level of artificial lighting, temperature and noise level, were very similar in the underground and above-ground offices, it is concluded that the perceived need for windows and the perception of the lighting conditions in our study was strongly influenced by psychological factors, such as the awareness of being underground. Furthermore, the Japanese subjects' reactions were similar to those of the western subjects found in previous studies, which suggests that reactions towards windowlessness and underground spaces are widespread, not influenced substantially by cultural or climatic conditions. It is, therefore, argued that underground spaces for office use should be avoided as much as possible. If underground space utilization is necessary, the occupants' psychological reactions should be considered to a much greater extent in the design process than is the case at present.

Since the speed of ageing is so rapid in Japan, the country is facing the serious problem of having to provide buildings and dwellings that will be suitable for use by elderly persons in a very short time. This article examines the effectiveness of various public policy initiatives that have been taken in the attempt to house elderly persons during the post-war period, and discusses newly introduced incentives directed toward universal design. It specifically highlights the efforts being taken to persuade the general public to accept the ideas of dwellings designed for everybody, throughout life.

Although the rights of disabled persons have been recognized as inviolable through legislation in many countries, it is still arguable whether the nature of the context is correctly understood. The philosophical basis is seldom discussed, but clearly the expectations of people differ. They will be satisfied if possibilities of choice exist for products, and to a lesser extent for housing. For public buildings provided by the private sector, not all buildings are accessible and usable, and people often have to be content with the presence of alternatives. However, the situation must be different for public transportation. It is rarely the case that people are given alternative modes of public transportation to choose from, because the government license is normally given to a single business entity. The government argues that giving license to multiple will result in their bankruptcy due to overinvestment. This then will mean that users should have the right to universal service, i.e., non-discriminatory service for everybody. The provision of special transport services has in essence denied this fundamental concept to be realized, and the whole system has to be reexamined toward the ultimate goal of public transportation for all.

It was mid 1980s when Japan was told that it will become highly aged society in the years to come. To cope with the rapid change, a research and development project was conducted with the government funding, followed by policy implementation of several kinds, in particular proposal of dwelling design concepts acceptable in ones' later years. The paper attempts to report the progresses, and discusses remaining issues to be resolved toward an inclusive society.

What is universal design? And where lies the difference between barrier-free design and universal design? One can answer this question from different viewpoints. This paper attempts to answer the question from the Far East, where the idea came later than in the United States or Europe.

Japanese government policies for seniors have long assumed that informal care by their families exists for them. The rapid aging of Japan is eroding the basis for this assumption. It is now necessary to include barrier-free design concepts in the basic requirements for dwellings to be used by everyone, not just seniors, to support independent living. Essential requirements in proposed guidelines are already in effect in the design and construction of publicly operated rental housing. But at this time, only the schemes of the Housing Loan Corporation of Japan for additional loans are being used, in cases where some design requirements for senior users are being met. The Housing Loan Corporation's loan system has long been seen as a policy on the part of government to boost the economy, particularly during recessions, but assistance for construction of higher quality dwellings has been lacking. This article discusses the basic philosophy of design guidelines and practical ideas to be considered in dwelling design and the merit of model dwellings constructed by housing manufacturers in Japan. It also discusses potential strategies to implement the basic ideas of design guidelines. It then proposes some possible methods to realize life-span dwellings, or dwellings designed for everybody.

Rapid ageing of the population necessitates the preparation of dwellings that are suited to ones' later years. Since dwellings last for decades, it is often the case that people rarely care about the outcome of choosing poor quality dwellings. Safety, accessibility, and usability are thought to be met as-a-matter-of-factly, which actually are not. To overcome such problems, we have developed our dwelling design guidelines for the ageing society through extensive research and succeeded in publishing them as recommendations from the government (Ministry of Construction). We have gone much further: The government subsidized housing mortgages now require the essential conditions to be eligible for preferential interest rates. The condition was the choice among the three, for durability, for energy conscious design, or for design for ageing, when the scheme was first revised in 1996. After two years, the mortgage now requires either energy conscious design or design for ageing. Within a few years, we further expect the integration of the two essential requirements, so that we will have a brighter future. The paper will explain the development processes and arguments we have overcome through years.

The discussion about underground spaces for office use has intensified during the past few decades, but the human reactions towards them are not yet well understood. Furthermore, most of the previous studies have been carried out in western countries. In the present study, Japanese office workers' psychological reactions to underground and above-ground offices were investigated with regard to the perceived importance of windows in the office, and the perceived lighting and visual conditions in the underground and above-ground offices. The study was carried out in the form of a questionnaire survey. The subjects were 22 employees in underground and 86 employees in above-ground offices. The results confirmed that windows were strongly desired in offices, especially by employees working underground and not having windows. The underground employees also evaluated their lighting condition more negatively than did the above-ground workers. Considering that type of furniture and colour scheme, as well as other environmental factors, such as type and level of artificial lighting, temperature and noise level, were very similar in the underground and above-ground offices, it is concluded that the perceived need for windows and the perception of the lighting conditions in our study was strongly influenced by psychological factors, such as the awareness of being underground. Furthermore, the Japanese subjects' reactions were similar to those of the western subjects found in previous studies, which suggests that reactions towards windowlessness and underground spaces are widespread, not influenced substantially by cultural or climatic conditions. It is, therefore, argued that underground spaces for office use should be avoided as much as possible. If underground space utilization is necessary, the occupants' psychological reactions should be considered to a much greater extent in the design process than is the case at present.

It is sixty years since ASA A117.1 was introduced in 1961, and fifty years since the US Senate Special Committee on Aging hearings on barrier-free environment in October 1971. During these years, the word “barrier-free design” was replaced with universal design, or inclusive design, with the notion that the need is not limited to people who have disabilities, but that more people will be affected by poor design. How far have we progressed in these years to solve the problems? This paper tries to examine what we have now and what still need to be done, on environments, products, and services. To sum-up major findings, the built environment is more considerate to people than before thanks to ADA and other similar laws and regulations, but improvement of existing infra/structures is slower than desirable.

What are the capabilities of occupants who are to be safeguarded during a fire in a building? What type of disabilities should one assume exist? An enormous number of persons who will experience difficulties once a fire occurs have never been given the consideration that they deserve. Aged persons, in particular, who are to be regarded as being disabled due to their limited ability in perception, making decisions and taking action, have almost been neglected. In this society, which has an ever escalating number of persons in 65+ age group combined with highly complex systems, the number of persons to be regarded as disabled is much greater than was previously assumed. It may be simply that those disabilities are made to seem invisible because the gap between the capabilities of the 65+ and the physical characteristics of the buildings that are dealt with by alternative measures (i.e., the life safety protection systems). Should a fire occur, and those alternative measures not be effective or if insufficient time is available, it would lead to a tremendous disaster, the implications of which have never been foreseen. Therefore, it would be desirable to reconsider the philosophy of fire safety in buildings, to deal with the drastic change in the capabilities of occupants. It must be pointed out that in the recent disaster in Kobe, such a large number of fire fatalities was narrowly avoided, because the majority of people were at home. The main cause of fatalities was being caught under collapsed old timber houses.

いわゆるバリアフリー先進国で建築物・施設に関しての「バリアフリー設計標準」がつくられるようになってからずいぶん時が経つ。各国は他国の事例を横目で見ながら、自らの経済力、気候、地形、自国民の体格などを総合的に判断して、根拠データがある場合はそれらを援用し、そうでないときには成り行きなどから規定内容を定めてきているが、国際標準を定める動きが出てきて各国の思惑の違いが露わになりつつある。果たして世界統一標準は成立するのだろうか?During these several years, efforts have continued toward establishing a set of standards on accessibility and usability of the built environment under the umbrella of ISO, the International Organisation of Standardisation. The target is to set up globally applicable universal design guidelines, which will cover all users. In the process, however, several difficult conflicts have emerged. Some arguments are raised from the so-called developing countries, but there are other discrepancies as well. Current paper will cast a light on these difficult issues, and will try to present possible directions for solution, toward accessibility and usability for all

Th e re is an ol d s aying, "a m an's h om e is h is cas tl e ". Th e ide al condition w ou l d b e th at a pe rs on's dw e l l ing s h ou l d b e s u itab l e from 'cradl e to grave '. H ow e ve r, m any pe opl e are force d to l e ave th e ir h om e s b e cau s e of th e de te rioration of th e ir capab il itie s , com m onl y du e to th e norm al aging proce s s. A daptab il ity of th e dw e l l ing to aging s h ou l d b e tak e n into cons ide ration b y th e h om e ow ne r (Unive rs al D e s ign or UD).