Türkiye'de devlet kurumlarında evrensel tasarım uygulamasının önemi : Bağlıca engelsiz yaşam ve rehabilitasyon merkezi

The most important thing to consider when designing in architecture are the users, the people. The design has evolved from past to present and has changed according to the needs. Many methods and principles have been developed. These differences are shaped according to the physical anthropological dimensions of people, their capacity of movement, and their visual, auditory and mental abilities. As human beings may be disabled in certain portion of their lives and they may have congenital disabilities; they may have problematic bodily features during childhood, old age and pregnancy. In this thesis, it is examined that while determining the user mass for design, not only users with standard human dimensions but also all users with different characteristics should be considered. Literature study consist of the two main parts when the first part is a thorough browsing on disability and universal design and in second part the examples from Turkish Governmental Institutions are emphasized with their universal design applications. In addition, the investigations were carried out at the Bağlıca Engelsiz Yaşam ve Rehabilitasyon Merkezi (Bağlıca Rehabilitation and Wellness Center for Disabled People) in Ankara and the importance of Universal Design in public buildings were emphasized. Then a survey was conducted in terms of accessibility, usability and livability of the users. As a result of the survey, it is seen that the design is incomplete and inadequate for the disabled in our country. In this thesis, how to take architectural measures in order to enable disabled individuals to reach buildings and open spaces without the help of others and to participate in life is developed.