An accessibility course held for the first time at the architecture institute of TTK University of Applied Sciences has come to an end, during which students designed and built accessibility solutions. As a result of the course, ramps were installed at several cultural and entertainment venues.
The two-month intensive course approached accessibility from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Its aim was to raise students’ awareness of how people with different disabilities experience and use space.
The course was led by Erkki Koitla, a fourth-year applied architecture student at TTK, and Hendra Raud, a master’s student in Interaction Design at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
“In a positive sense, the course was very intensive, as both theoretical lectures and fieldwork sessions took place within a short period of time,” said Raud. During the lectures, students met with experts and experience advisors from various fields, who spoke about both their professional work and the everyday experiences of people with disabilities. According to Raud, the fieldwork sessions in the urban environment helped students better understand the daily challenges faced by people with disabilities.
According to Koitla, students mapped accessibility issues in the urban environment throughout the course and proposed practical solutions to address them. “We helped several venues take their first steps towards improving accessibility. Based on this experience, they can move towards more comprehensive solutions in the future,” Koitla added.
Among the completed projects were ramps for the cultural venue Uus Laine, the bars Botik and Möku, as well as an accessibility solution enabling access to the observation platform at the Tallinn TV Tower.
The elective course, held for the first time this year, will take place again in the autumn semester. “Next time, we will focus on a smaller number of sites in order to explore solutions in greater depth and move from temporary measures towards more permanent and comprehensive ones,” explained Raud. “Often, the issue is not simply about building a single ramp. Every location is different and there are no universal solutions – each environment requires an individual approach.”
The accessibility course was supported by ITAK Terviseabivahendid, which provided wheelchairs that helped students better understand the everyday challenges faced by people with mobility impairments. Students were also guided in the construction of the ramps by TTK laboratory engineer Ando Pärtel.
A total of 21 students from the architecture institute, ranging from first- to fourth-year students, took part in the course.
The activities and outcomes of the course can be followed on Instagram at @ratastooli_parkuur.
