Accessibility in block of flats from 1990 until today : Analyses of projects in Uddevalla

The built environment should be accessible for everyone. A residence shall be functional without creating a handicap for people who have a disability from birth, caused by an accident or of old age. A residence that is accessible creates equal conditions for everyone. In this report the accessibility of newly built blocks of flats in Uddevalla city from 1990 until today are interpreted. One project that is yet to be built is interpreted and compared with the already existing projects. The apartments of seven projects have been analyzed according to today’s regulations of accessibility. The Swedish politics regarding disablement and a historical overview of the building regulations from the 1980’s till 2010 give the foundation of the analyses of the projects. One type-apartment in each project has been furnished to be able to interpret how the accessibility demands are fulfilled. In the study the conditions of the seven projects are different. Two of the projects, that have been built 8 years apart, are two-story apartment blocks. These projects separate from the other projects that are four-seven story apartment block buildings. One of the buildings has the concept of being able to keep living in and using the apartment when ageing. The four project that remains are all block of flats with 26-45 apartments each, with the difference of when they were built, or is going to be built. The result of how accessible the different apartments are in each project depends on how well thought-out the floor plan is. The oldest project is comparable to and even better than two of the younger projects when it comes to accessibility. A neutral hallway or accessing a bedroom from the living room is a recurring design that is found in five of the seven projects. In three of the projects a failing design or different building regulations causes the bathroom to fail the accessibility demands. The recurring center- to- center distance between the toilet and washbasin in each projects determines if the accessibility demands are achieved. When a kitchen, dining area and living room are in an open connection with each other they create practicability, but depending on the measurements of each space the accessibility demands can be fulfilled or shattered by collisions, created when furnishing