Architectural education in Egypt in the light of universal design approach

Abstract EN

Universal Design (UD) is a philosophy of design aimed at creating an inclusive, sustainable community in which every individual can participate to the greatest possible extent.

UD’s purpose is to facilitate the everyday life of all people without paying more attention to their age and abilities; by making the surrounding environment more readable, accessible, and usable without extra cost.

The study problem is apparent in which the Architectural Education in Egypt has need of the existence of the UD approach and its applications.

The purpose of universal/ inclusive design education is to increase consciousness, to improve a sense of responsibility, and to grasp the current regulations and conditions.

This paper is targeted to highlight the significance of the UD concept in architectural education and for design process improvement.

Additionally, the main purpose of the study is to imply UD in the architectural education in Egyptian departments, institutes, and faculties.

The study goal also is to display a framework “theoretical model” for teaching UD in architecture departments in Egypt as the first step towards universally designed societies and environments.

Thus, there is a necessity for integrating UD in Architectural education in Egyptian departments, institutes, and faculties.

Consequently, teaching universal design is regarded as an urgent need.

Design professions have a crucial role in creating accessible environments and products for all.

Good design has the capability to adapt to all users and enable them to live comfortably and work successfully.

Hence, people who design, or implement legislation have a major responsibility to guarantee that people who have disabilities can fully participate in societies.

The significance of this research is to create awareness among designers to find better solutions for a particular design.

Accordingly, architectural education and its teaching methods have to be developed in the light of UD.

The study addressed the descriptive-analytical method to achieve the study goals.

Finally, there can be some recommendations that assist in implying the UD approach in Architectural education in Egypt.