Oliver Heiss, Johann Ebe and Christine Degenhart

A handbook for universal design and planning, inside and out

"Building for all" best defines what lies behind the unwieldy term "barrier-free design" – the integrative use of buildings for people with disabilities. The integration of all members of society, including those with disabilities, can only be achieved if the environment is made fully accessible to everyone. Demographic changes also mean that occupants are demanding new qualities of buildings.

The Practice book "Barrier-Free Design" provides all specialist planners, architects, but also interested owners and builders with practical basic information and implementation options open to planners around the topic of barrier-free design. It shows how such demands can be accommodated in aesthetically sophisticated architecture and that taking barrier-free aspects into account in the early stages of planning does not necessarily result in extra costs as compared with "classic"construction. As well as an overview of the basics of planning, this book depicts the relevant rules and regulations and presents examples of these and of prospective developments in a European context.