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| A newly designed public restroom of a community service center in Guro District, southwestern Seoul, features a wireless push button for its automatic door making it accessible by foot pressure to help prevent unnecessary contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Park Han-sol
Seoul Metropolitan Government and the affiliated Seoul Universal Design Center (Seoul UDC) have selected the restrooms at three community service centers in Guro-dong, Sinjung-dong and Mangwon-dong for remodeling as part of the city's efforts to bring inclusive design to urban civic spaces.
Some of the features of the "universal design" campaign include hands-free door openers, large signs for the visually impaired and diaper changing stations in men's rooms for fathers with babies.
The aim of universal design is to create a safe and nondiscriminatory environment and buildings that remain accessible to all, regardless of gender, age, disability or nationality.
With large pictorial signs and symbols indicating the way to the bathroom entrance, the facilities have become easier to locate for individuals with poor vision, senior citizens and visitors of foreign nationalities who cannot read Korean.
These bathrooms have also installed automatic doors to make them more accessible for users with babies and personal baggage. The Guro 2-dong center has placed wireless push buttons for the doors at foot level to prevent unnecessary contact amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
Diaper changing stations and child seats, which had been installed previously only in women's bathrooms and cubicles, have also been added to men's rooms. The Sinjung 3-dong community service center, which is frequented by parents with young children, is even equipped with a temperature-controlled diaper changing booth as well as a separate storage space for strollers located at the entrance.
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| A "restroom for all" remodeled from a bathroom designated previously for users with disabilities / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
One of the new features of this universal design project is the idea of the "restroom for all" ― including people with disabilities, senior citizens and families with children. In addition to improving the safety metal handle and lumbar support on the toilet, the bathroom contains a child seat and a diaper changing station. Emergency bells are placed in several locations, including one at the bottom of the wall, to be used in case of a sudden fall or other medical emergency.
Seoul City and Seoul UDC have created detailed guidelines for integrating universal design in public restrooms to be followed and used in other public or private organizations. The city also plans to expand the scope of its inclusive design to public childcare facilities including a lactation room by the end of this year.
"The targets of universal design should include not only persons with disabilities but also the elderly amid the aging society, adults with childcare responsibilities, people of foreign nationalities and children," said Lee Hye-young, director of the city's design policy division.
