As a prelude to the World Day of Architecture Celebration, the UAP Makati-CBD Chapter co-hosted a talk by Dr. Yoshi Kawauchi on “Universal Design” at the National Council for Disability Affairs (NCDA) last September 8, 2011. This was done with the help of co-chapter member Arch Jimmy Silva.
Dr. Yoshi, himself a Person with Disability (PWD), spoke on Accessibility Laws in Japan, and how their laws transformed from the ‘Building Accessible Act’, to the ‘Act of Buildings with a Warm Heart’, to the ‘New Barrier Free Act’. Their laws move around a basic principle of “for all”.
Dr Yoshi then talked about the nitty-gritty on How to Make It Accessible by showing pictures and videos of good and bad examples of designs for PWDs, especially highlighting the new designs in the Tokyo International Airport (TIAT).
Lastly, he showed pictures and videos of what the government has been doing to re-design their streetwalks so that PWDs can walk the streets un-assisted. These were amazing!
This talk was attended by Makati-CBD members, students from Central Colleges of the Phils (CCP), DSWD, DOTC, JICA, NCDA, CCP, DILG and DPWH representatives.
