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Galleries’ exhibit is “unlimited by design”
Visitors view products, room interiors created based on principles of universal design
By KRISTIN RIEMER
Reporter Contributor
"Unlimited by Design," a hands-on, multi-media exhibition of products and residential interiors created based on the principles of "universal design," is on display through June 30 in the First Floor and Lightwell galleries of the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
A traveling version of "Unlimited by Design" has been on display in the Milwaukee Institute of Design since July 28. It will close on March 15.
The UB showing of "Unlimited by Design" is a collaboration between the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA Center) in the School of Architecture and Planning and the UB Art Gallery. It is funded in part through the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Universal Design (RERC), a major project of the IDEA Center.
Universal Bathroom, IDEA center
PHOTO: Frank Miller
Visitors to the exhibit can tour several rooms and use everyday products that exemplify the principles of universal design—which means they can be used or navigated easily and comfortably by anyone, regardless of age, size, strength or agility. Featured in the exhibit are the award-winning universal bathroom and drinking fountain prototypes designed in the IDEA Center.
Moreover, the exhibition's designers have integrated universal design concepts into the overall design of the exhibit—noticeably, the height of the display shelves, display colors, informative graphics and Braille labeling.
Edward Steinfeld, professor of architecture and director of the IDEA Center and RERC who helped develop the principles of universal design, calls the concept "a natural expression of a diverse society."
To understand the significance of the universal design movement, Steinfeld says the public needs to reassess the concept of "function."
"During our lifetimes, all of us experience periods of reduced strength and stamina due to illness, injury, pregnancy or age," he notes. "Even a temporary condition quickly introduces us to a world that is not designed to accommodate people with restricted movement, an inability to lift or stand, or who have hearing or sight limitations. Even carrying a heavy package can reduce our ability to function efficiently or safely.
"Products designed according to universal design principles are functional and aesthetically pleasing," he says. "They can be operated intuitively—it's easy to figure them out. In fact, these products have so many advantages over conventional alternatives that they appeal to everyone—that's why it's called universal design."
Abir Mullick, professor of architecture and a senior faculty associate at the IDEA Center, adds that the fundamental basis of universal design is about providing choices about use. "For a design to be truly universal, it should offer the same level of access, assistance and enablement to all users," he says.
The exhibition brings the best available products for each room of the home together in one place, Mullick says. "Universally designed products are less expensive, more attractive, easier to obtain than assistive products. Because they are mass-manufactured items and have a broad market base, they are very affordable."
First exhibited at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in 1998, "Unlimited by Design" was conceived by internationally renowned industrial designer Bruce Hannah and George Covington, a sight-impaired disability advocate. The IDEA Center expanded the scope of the exhibition as one of its dissemination projects.
The IDEA Center and the UB Art Gallery plan to take the UB installation on the road to other major cities.
The UB exhibit, which is free and open to the public, can be viewed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The UB Art Gallery will institute its summer hours—11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday—beginning on May 19.