Professional trajectory and personal experience endorse Enrique Rovira-Beleta (Barcelona, ​​1958) as one of the top experts in accessibility. A wheelchair user since the age of 23, this architect has been promoting the removal of architectural barriers for forty years and working to make homes, buildings and cities more comfortable and accessible not only for those with a disability, but for everyone. And always with the premise of “unnoticed accessibility”, so that it is not noticed.
“This is the drama of my work, which is not seen, which includes things that no one notices until they need them”, points out Rovira-Beleta, who was responsible for accessibility at the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Barcelona and today continues to advise governments, institutions and companies on architectural design decisions to make people’s lives easier, in addition to teaching architects and professionals from different fields in accessibility and universal design at the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture.
Accessibility has been guaranteed by law in Spain for two decades, so it must be thought that it is a premise internalized by architects and that it is taken into account in all projects for the construction or reform of houses, squares…
Yes, but not sufficiently or adequately, because there is a lack of training. The only school of architecture in Spain that has a compulsory accessibility subject is the UIC. And there is also no training in accessibility at design, interior design and decoration schools, in law, education, nursing…
Do these professionals need to know about accessibility?
And so much, because now there are more and more elderly people and they all want to continue living in their homes and doing what they like; but homes, businesses and cities are not ready. The architecture of the 21st century is the architecture of the elderly. And accessibility, which used to be the responsibility of a few, the group of people with a disability, is now the responsibility of everyone. In ten years, the houses and the streets will be full of old people who no longer see the same, feel the same, walk the same, or understand the same; and it is necessary to change the cities but also the training of all professionals so that they know how to address these needs from their area.
When we talk about an accessible building, we immediately think of ramps. Is it enough?
No. We need reserved parking spaces, a ramped entrance, a magnetic loop so that the hearing impaired can hear through the hearing aid, a haptic map where information can be seen, touched, felt… It’s always an advantage to work with people with severe disabilities in mind, because if you think about the most affected, everyone wins. This is design for everyone, because if the wheelchair passes, we all pass; if the sign includes braille, it is read by the blind and everyone, if the signage includes colors it helps the person with cognitive problems but also those who do not understand the language… Accessible design improves the comfort and quality of life for all people : those who live there, those who visit and those who will one day grow up there.
What should housing look like to be able to grow old in it?
A house where I can visit. The measure of 21st century architecture is the wheelchair. In other words, the homes must be designed without any steps to enter the building, none! And with the doorbells at a height that I and the seventh-grade boy can shout. The lift must be for 6 people so that the chair can enter without disassembling it and it must be possible to reach it flat or with a soft ramp with handrails. The doors have to be 80 centimeters, and the corridors, one metre, because that’s how I pass through them and everyone else. And the toilet, in addition to having the toilet at 45-48 centimeters from the floor, must be designed to be able to close the door if you enter with a wheelchair. And it would be nice to be able to go out on the balcony without any steps.
And the rest of the rooms?
This would be the standardizable accessibility. On this basis, everyone could add the adaptations they need for little money.
And on the street? What accessibility measures do you consider basic?
Barcelona is a good example. On the occasion of the Olympic Games, the Barcelona fords were built, a 10% ramp that includes the entire pedestrian crossing and facilitates the mobility of young people, the elderly, scooters, bicycles, wheelchairs… Another key point is the transport The bus tells you how long it is to get there, it has special seats, it has a ramp to get on and off it… And in the subway you have an elevator (although they would need more, and transparent ones, because if you stay locked up and the deaf can communicate) and guide strips that take you to the cashier, to the pass control, to the elevator that goes down to the platform… What is missing are more adapted taxis. Also more accessible signage and inclusive parks and gardens like the ones that are starting to appear.
Do you think building regulations should expand accessibility requirements?
What is needed is to apply quality control and implement a seal that certifies the quality of accessibility supervised by accredited experts. Because the details are important, and training is needed both among the architects and among those who execute the works. Then you go to a hotel and you find slides instead of ramps or the wrongly fitted toilet bars.
Isn’t this the responsibility of the architect who designs the work?
In architecture, as in medicine, there are specialties, such as: construction, facades, infrastructures, installations and, also, accessibility. But in the latter there are very few experts and a lot of work, also in companies to avoid occupational accidents. It is a big business, however, there are not enough experts to do this consulting and certification because the truth is that there are few specialization courses. I was a pioneer in promoting, in 2010, an interactive online postgraduate course in Accessibility and Universal Design at the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, in which we have students from all over the world and from different disciplines.
