Overlooked?

Abstract

This paper addresses designing for accessibility of renovated housing. The investigated case evaluates interfaces of heating and ventilation systems in a demonstration apartment for an intended renovation of high-rise social housing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We selected a focus on people who are blind or have low vision (PBLV). We conducted two qualitative studies with different target groups, (expert) users and building domain experts, to answer two research questions: First, what are the accessibility limitations of the currently installed HVAC systems in social housing, using the example of the demo apartment? Second, in what way can we enable stakeholders aiming to commission a renovation to make decisions that improve accessibility? We argue based on interviews and remote observations that PBLV face many issues. For example, home control interfaces commonly lack features such as a voice control option or tactile buttons, making them inaccessible for this group and less accessible for everyone else. To tackle this challenge, we propose a guidebook supporting decision-makers in assessing and implementing accessibility in renovation projects of social housing. The final evaluation confirmed that such an intervention fills a gap for human-centred tools in zero-energy renovations.