1. Background and Purposes
This study, based on the angel of the improvement of the Accessibility Act of Buildings, tried to understand the foreign policy relating to barrier-free building decree so as to strengthen the system of barrier-free building in our country. The purposes of this study were as follows:
A. Analyzing the structures and contexts containing in Japan’s “Laws relating to Facilitate the Movement of Elderly and Disable Persons”
B. Analyzing the technical differences of accessible facilities among the Japan’s “Building Design Standards Concerning the Smooth of Movement for the Elderly and Disabilities”, "Americans with Disabilities Act" and the “Design Specifications of Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities “ of our nation.
C. Discussing the insufficient contents of our current barrier-free system for buildings based on the characteristics of U.S and Japan’s “Standards for Design of Buildings with Barrier – Free” to propose the direction and recommendations for future revision.
2. Research Methods and Processes
A. Research methods
1. Literature review: focusing on the legislation, processes technical information of Japan “Building Design Standards Concerning the Smooth of Movement for the Elderly and Disabilities” and “Accessible Design Standards of Americans with Disabilities Act to conduct arrangement and study
2. Case investigation and analysis: targeting on the cases and features of public buildings’ accessible facilities and equipment in our country and Japan to carry out investigation and analysis so as to propose the future improvement direction for our barrier-free facilities and equipment.
3. Expert interviews and workshop convention: conducting individual interview, group workshop with domestic industry and academia barrier-free experts in order to understand the directions of framework and amendment content of our nation’s building barrier-free laws in the future.
B. Research process
Step 1: literature data collection and analysis.
Step 2: analyze the laws and regulations and technical contents of barrier-free facilities and equipment for buildings in Japan.
Step 3: investigate high-quality cases of barrier-free buildings in Japan and Taiwan
Step 4: conduct expert meetings and interviews to discuss the Building Accessibility Decree of Japan, in order to provide suggestions on the amendments of our Building Accessibility Act.
Step 5: propose the future direction and recommendations for the amendment of our building accessibility laws and regulations.
3. Major findings
A. Review of Japan's accessibility regulations
1. In order to meet the needs of the aging society and super-senior society, Japan has expanded the thinking level of barrier-free facilities for the protection rights of persons with disabilities to include peoples who are suffering with health, mental and developmental problems and pay particular attention to the utilization behaviors of elderly person.
2. The very feature of Japan’s accessibility regulations is that they are based on“Laws Relating to Facilitate the Movement of Elderly and Disable Persons” as mother law which contains 64 Articles that integrate measures for buildings, roads, parks, vehicles and subsidies. Of the relevant sub-laws that refine the contents of the mother law, its thinking is different from those of Article 57 of “People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act” , which is served as mother law of accessible environment improvement for buildings and venues in Taiwan, and the regulations prescribed in the “Americans with Disabilities Act” . Although the central authority of Japan’s "Laws relating to Facilitate the Movement of Elderly and Disable Persons" is the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport which is different from the U.S. competent authority of the Ministry of Justice, the regulative system of Japan building laws are much more holistic and objective that can serve as the references for our nation’s consideration in carrying out the integration for assessable environments of buildings, roads, and park spaces.
3. The difference from both the United States and Taiwan’s Building Accessibility Act is that Japan has extended the settings of facilities originally specified for buildings and accessibility to roads, outdoor parking lots, urban parks, etc., as well as expanded the focusing objectives of originally accessible spaces to areas where the passenger facilities are not provided. This is different from the thought of respectively improving the accessibility of buildings, parks and roads in our country, and it is also different from the thought of accessibility design standards of Americans with Disabilities Act
4. In line with the general thinking of combining the overall constructions of communities, Japan has formulated a basic conception of agreement system that regulates accessible facilities and creates a basic conception of proposal system for residents in writing to protect the rationality of space users. Such measure should be able to serve as reference in promoting the improvement of overall accessible facilities as well as in implementing the solutions for the plights in the future.
5. Japan’s financial support system for the accessibility of identified specific buildings, including special tax measures, low-interest financing systems and subsidy systems, are valuable reference for domestic governments in promoting the improvement of existing public buildings.
B. Review of accessible design standards for buildings in Japan
1. Japan’s Building Accessibility Design Standards are based on the "Building Design Standards Concerning the Smooth of Movement for the Elderly and Disabilities", which is divided into "Building Maintenance Promotion for the Elderly and the Disabled”, "Design of Unit Space", "Design Case Set", "Basic Size" and so on. Contents of the standards mainly emphasize the concept of the whole building plan, key points, checkpoints of various purposes, evacuation in disasters, and guidance facilities. They are worthy for our reference in developing future explanation manual of design specifications for accessible buildings.
2. Focus of accessible overall design of Japan’s "Building Design Standards Concerning the Smooth of Movement for the Elderly and Disabilities" are placed on the consideration of the general environment and preparedness, and the diversity of facility settings. In addition, in order to allow designers and industries to be able to view the results of improvement easily, cases are presented by contrast photos and pictures taken before and after such improvement, along with the expression of perspective, large sample, and horizontal and vertical sections. This is worthy of our specifications and explanation manuals for building with accessible facility design.
C. Review the future direction for the amendment of building accessibility regulations in our nation
1. This study considered the integration of buildings, venues and road accessibility and intended to promote it through the way of demonstration area so as to solve the accessible facility interface issue in space and to implement the continuity of assessable space within key areas.
2. The assessable facilities and equipment should be set with a flexible and the hardware in accessible space shall be considered together with services of software in order to exert a complementary effect.
3. We should strengthen the barrier-free facilities for public buildings and residential buildings and improve the separation of laws and regulations in order to cope with the coming age of the elderly society.
4. Design guidelines should be adopted to provide practices of accessible design or universal design, in which the specific public buildings and special facilities and equipment should be considered, the accessible facilities and equipment should be flexible, different types of buildings should be with more detailed reference standards. Under such way, the combination of software and hardware facilities and equipment shall be able to strengthen the integration of science and technology so as to enable hearing impaired persons to be more comfortable to use.
4. Suggestions and Countermeasures
Suggestion 1: the results of this study may be incorporated into the future amendments to the " Design Specifications of Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities” : feasible recommendation for immediate adoption
The amendment suggestions of " Design Specifications of Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities” arranged by this study and the standard contents of United States and Japan’s accessible designs for buildings should sever as references for the future amendment of the " Design Specifications of Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities” of the Ministry.
Suggestion 2:The results of this study can be included in the preparation of the ” Training Materials for the Surveyors of Accessible facilities and Equipment in Buildings”: feasible recommendation for immediate adoption.
Cases of accessible system and design standards for buildings in the United States and Japan sorted out by this study can subsequently be incorporated into the ” Training Materials for the Surveyors of Accessible facilities and Equipment in Buildings”
Suggestion 3: integrate demonstration designs of buildings, roads, venues in key display areas: middle- and long-term recommendation
It is suggested that the accessible environment concept of integrating buildings, roads, venues in Japan’s “Laws relating to Facilitate the Movement of Elderly and Disable Persons” can serve as reference for each municipality and county (city) government in the future for choosing key demonstration areas (such as train station, museums and important scenic spots) to integrate the design of accessible environments and the interfaces of the facilities of the buildings, roads and activities places and, after the completion of the evaluation, to promote the improvement for overall environments.
Suggestion 4: developing design guidelines for accessible rooms of hotel buildings: medium to long term proposals
This study proposed the development of the criteria for the design of accessible rooms and related supporting spaces for hotels, which can be used by the Administration to provide guidelines for the design of hotel’s accessible rooms.