1 The Impact of Building Design on Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities by Keith Christensen and Patricia Salmi Individuals with disabilities represent a significant, although often overlooked, portion of the population in emergency evacuations from buildings. Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines require that provisions for accessible evacuation or exit must be made; however, failures in meeting the evacuation needs of indi- viduals with disabilities continue to occur (Christensen et. al., 2007). These failures may be attributed to evacuation policy and planning that emphasizes helping an individual with disabilities adjust to the environment, rather than adjusting the environment to accommo- date the individual (Hahn, 1985). During evacuations, it is the design of the envi- ronment that creates the majority of evacuation barriers. For individuals with disabilities, their families, and service providers, it is important to evaluate en- vironments for clear and easy movement to safety during emergencies. Universal Design is a useful tool for evaluating and designing buildings to better support the emergency evacuation needs of individuals with disabilities. Universal Design is an approach to make buildings usable by the broadest group of users possible, and is based on seven design principles: equitable use, flexibil- ity in use, simple and intuitive, percep- tible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size and space for ap- proach and use (Story et. al., 1998). The list of suggestions in this article incorpo- rates Universal Design principles and can be used by individuals, their families, and service providers to evaluate build- ings for clarity and ease of movement to safety during times of emergencies. Spatial Organization Spatial organization or building layout is critical during building evacuation, either facilitating or inhibiting move- ment to safety, and relates to the Univer- sal Design principles of equitable use, simple and intuitive, flexibility in use, and tolerance for error. Key points to look for in spatial organization include: • Destination zones. Determine if a larger building or building complex has destination zones, which are the easily-identified areas in a building. Examples of this might include a food court in a shopping mall or a cafeteria or central atrium in an office com- plex. Destination zones can be useful in designating areas for sheltering people within the building and for providing orientation points in giving directions; they should be clearly marked and discussed during emer- gency evacuation practices. • Equitable means of accessible exit. The same options for getting out of a building should be available for all of the population, including those with disabilities. While it is allowable by building codes, providing alternate accessible emergency exits can be very confusing. To avoid confusion, every emergency exit should be acces- sible. If it is impossible to make the exit accessible, on the second floor of the building for example, safe areas for sheltering people within that area need to be provided. These areas should be located in close proximity to the inaccessible exits to permit bet- ter visibility of individuals who might need assistance. • Spatial overview opportunities. Does the building have spatial over- view opportunities, which are places where one can “look over” the area. Spatial overview opportunities allow people to gain building information quickly about various parts of a building, including exits and corri- dors that lead to exits, as well as paths that lead to destination zones and/or places of shelter within a building and reduce the possibility of errors during exiting. • Spatial layout. How is the building laid out? Is the layout confusing? Is it easy to get lost? Symmetrically laid out buildings (i.e., one side mirrors the other) need clearly differentiated sides (i.e., the sides need to be clearly marked in different manners). Con- fusing layouts in which it’s easy to get lost benefit from the judicious use of color, lighting, landmarks, and signage to clearly mark exiting areas and destination zones designated as places of shelter. Also helpful in dif- ferentiating spatial layout are archi- tectural features such archways, col- umns, and windows (and possibly doors) that make a particular space memorable. Use of Signs Signs are useful in communicating neces- sary information and are an important element for emergency building evacua- tion related to the Universal Design prin- ciple of perceptible information. The fol- lowing describes building sign place- ment and desirable characteristics: Universal Design is a useful tool for evaluating and designing buildings to better support the emergency evacuation needs of individuals with disabilities. Overview