Свесност студената архитектуре о примени универзалног дизајна у грађеном окружењу
Architecture Students’ Awareness of Universal Design Application in the Built Environment

Summary/Abstract: The physical and social environment can support or impede the inclusion of people with disabilities. When we talk about the rights of people with disabilities it is inevitable to emphasize the accessibility of the built environment, transport, access to information and communication as a prerequisite for participation in the life of the community. Universal design has its origin precisely in the recognition of the rights of all people in the context of health, safety, comfort and environmental protection. Raising people’s awareness of the wide range of human needs can be achieved in many ways, including, for example, disabled people's organizations, professional associations, academic research, continuing professional development and the architecture studies. Given that awareness plays an important role in the design process, the importance of vocational education and training of future architects is of evident importance, because within this profession a philosophy that implies a greater orientation to the user may be started. The aim of this research was to examine the awareness of architecture students as future professionals in the field of construction about the application of the concept of universal design in the built environment. The study was aimed to investigate the roles that the previous, secondary education, level of academic education and acquaintance with persons with disabilities play in the architecture students’ awareness of the application of universal design in the built environment. Given that so far in our area the awareness of the application of universal design in the built environment has not been investigated, we applied an exploratory type of research. The research sample consisted of 129 students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, who were divided into two groups. The first group of subjects included 60 first-year students of undergraduate studies. The second group consisted of 69 first-year students of master academic studies. A specific questionnaire composed of 14 questions was designed. The first part of the questionnaire contained four questions related to gender, year of study, previously completed secondary education and knowledge of persons with disabilities. The second part of the questionnaire contained eight closed-ended questions pertaining to: (a) the accessibility of the environment for persons with physical disabilities; (b) the accessibility of buildings for persons with physical disabilities; (c) the availability of means of transport for persons with physical disabilities; (d) environments accessible for people with visual impairments; and two questions related to basic knowledge about universal design and its important. In order to avoid accidentally giving correct answers, each question was supplemented by additional open-ended questions which required a more detailed explanation of the given answers. The research was conducted during the fall semester of the academic year 2014/2015. The results showed that the secondary vocational education in the field of architecture, compared with a general secondary education, did not have a significant influence on the formation of the awareness of universal design in the built environment. On the other hand, education at the university level had an important role in understanding the problems of people with disabilities in the built environment, because certain academic subjects include contents relating to the application of universal design. With the aim of constant improvement of knowledge in the field,it would be significant to increase the contents dealing with these issues, and to introduce teaching methods that will enable students to actively acquire knowledge in the field of application of universal design. Establishing cooperation with associations of persons with disabilities and engaging in joint activities would increase contacts of the students with disabled people and lead to a better understanding of their needs in everyday life.

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