View from wheelchair at the coffee cart
When participating in this exercise, everything seemed very large in comparison. Unless objects were lowered it was very hard to access them. In the bookshelves, I was able to reach to the 5th level but it was quite a stretch for me. Another observation I had was that everything seemed more cramped because it was difficult to maneuver around corners in the wheelchair. In the bathroom in Daggy, I had a very difficult time even getting into the stall, but there was no way to turn around. The sign outside the bathroom claimed it was handicap accessible but I found the only accessible part was the sink which was low enough that it was easy to use. Also when looking forward or up, I was not visible in the mirror. The most I could see were a few stray hairs sticking up off the top of my head. At the coffee cart where you made you order I could not see behind the counter and it was very difficult to reach up to put something like a card or cash up there. However, the pick up station was low enough that it was easy to roll up to and with the leg room underneath, this was even simpler. The door buttons helped to enter a interior but if there wasn't one available it was near to impossible to get into the space.
I now more than ever believe the designed environment should be accessible to everyone, regardless of cost. Most people towards the end of their life with develop a disability, whether it is becoming hard of hearing or becoming a wheelchair user. As you age things in life become more difficult and so designing so that anyone can access space is more important. When available, angled mirrors help wheelchair users to be able to see themselves and I found it hard to believe neither Carpenter nor Daggy Hall had them in their bathrooms. I do like the few sketches I did, but wish I had experienced more than the few places we covered. I found the pictures my partner and I took really showed the experience and one of the hardest parts of this sketching excursion was rolling up or down ramps. When rolling down a ramp you had to go carefully and slowly or it would hurt your hand when you tried to stop and when moving up the ramp your shoulders ached at the end. I hope soon every environment can become accessible to everyone.
