Ergonomics issues in conceiving an accessible project

Abstract

Public space is endowed with undeniable social relevance, thus becoming a defining element of integration and interaction among its users. Aware of this importance the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), linked to the Ministério da Educação e Cultura (MEC), develops the project “UFPB para todos: eliminando barreiras’’ (UFPB for all: removing barriers) that aims to conceive an architectural design of an accessible rout to UFPB’s campus I, and execute a pilot stretch of this route. This article aims to subsidize the preprojectual phase by understanding the needs of this campus’ users, through the concepts of ergonomics and universal design. Was performed out direct observation of the space, and the methods of interviews and observation of user behavior were applied to a group of students with disabilities, through the techniques of assisted walking, photographic and video recording. Based on those, projective guidelines have been defined, which will contribute to the final project’s quality, so that this is not a simple application of the rule, but works free of segregating barriers.