News - Finnish architects explore accessibility and cultural heritage

Architecture students in Finland recently had the opportunity to explore "Accessibility and cultural heritage" in a seminar organized by a previous winner of the Schindler Award, the School of Architecture at Tampere University of Technology.

The seminar, held last March, focused on how to make cultural heritage sites accessible to wheelchair users and people with impaired senses. Such sites pose a particular challenge because measures to improve accessibility, such as special lighting or ramps for wheelchair users, must be balanced against preserving the integrity of the site.

Before the seminar, students were given the chance to participate in practical demonstrations of impaired vision, hearing and mobility (see photographs below) to better understand the difficulties faced by people with disabilities when visiting such sites.

The seminar was organized in cooperation with local disability organizations, and was attended by students of architecture, architects and engineers. Among the invited lecturers were wheelchair user Marta Bordas Eddy – a previous winner of Schindler Award 2006 - and her former professor, Miguel Usandizaga, of Spain's Technical University of Catalonia.

The School of Architecture at Tampere University of Technology holds seminars on accessibility in cooperation with disability organizations every second year. This latest seminar was funded by prize money won in the Schindler Award 2008 competition.

For more information about the seminar, visit the School of Architecture website: TUT Website

Impressions of the seminar:

For more information, please contact:

Cathérine Voltz
Schindler Management Ltd.
Project Leader Schindler Award
Zugerstrasse 136030 Ebikon; Switzerland
Tel. +41 41 445 30 60
Fax +41 41 445 31 44
corporate.communications@schindler.com