| What's Access For All?

Access For All is a virtual reality platform that enables architects to test their designs and learn about Architecture ADA accessibility standards.

Using a virtual environment paired with a physical wheelchair simulator, architects can navigate their own designs and test key elements—doorways, hallways, restrooms, and more—against real-world mobility needs.

This immersive approach builds empathy, prevents costly design errors, and ensures inclusivity is embedded from the start. With planned features like voice guidance and expanded scenarios, Access for All aims to make accessibility testing a standard step in every design process.

| Problem Statement

- Most young architects don’t have any experience of using accessible devices like a wheelchair. It’s too difficult for them to have an actual and correct feeling of whether the space is appropriate for wheelchair users before construction.

- The traditional way of reading and learning the ADA architecture design standards manual is inefficient and time-consuming, and it is even harder when it comes to putting the rules into a design.

| Who are the users?

I followed UCD design process to define the problem, research, ideate, and devise a solution.

I started with a secondary research study to learn the knowledge of accessibility, whether there are any existing cases regarding ADA Standards for Accessibility Design, Accessibility in virtual reality( Wheelchair Experience, Education, and Psychophysical Rehabilitation), Human Factors in Virtual Reality, Virtual Reality & Empathy, and Architecture in Virtual Reality, etc.

Key Findings:

• It is blank in the field of testing and learning accessible architecture design in immersive design platforms(virtual reality).
• Virtual reality is widely used in powering wheelchair training.
• Currently, the main application of virtual reality in architecture is using it to show clients their design projects.
• It is dangerous to think virtual reality is an empathy machine.

| Interviews

To get more sense about accessibility and obtain some first-hand information, I interviewed several people. They are related to the project and can give suggestions for improvement, including wheelchair users, architects, accessibility experts, and UX designers.

Besides, I participated in the activity of " Design Jam on Accessibility in Urban Contexts". I interviewed three disabled people who can only move through wheelchairs.

Key Findings:

• Architecture accessible design is based on ADA standards. But most of the young architects are not familiar with the standards.
• The traditional way of learning ADA standards is boring and easy to misunderstand some key points such as clear width at the turn and passing spaces.
• Some architecture companies have virtual reality devices.
• In architecture accessibility design, the most likely mistakes happen in the parts of the entrance(ramp and door), toilet room, and elevator.
• Architects' superior spatial imagination ability let them be more willing to experience virtual reality.

| Survey

Besides, I did some research about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for accessibility architecture design. I used the Google Survey to try to find out whether people care about accessibility.

Key Findings:

• 46.7% of respondents haven't heard of ADA standards.
• 88.9% of respondents have seen wheelchair users encounter barriers to accessing accessible facilities or buildings. For example, the ramp is too steep to move, the time for the door to open is too long, and there is no accessible elevator in some subway stations.
• 90.1% of respondents feel the wheelchair virtual reality experience is helpful and hope to experience it.
• To better understand wheelchair users, it would be interesting to have some parts that might be frustrating to the virtual reality user.

After I completed my secondary and primary research, I set up my mind to build a virtual reality platform to help architect testing and learning ADA standards. Besides the pain points, architects' superior spatial imagination ability lets them be more willing to experience virtual reality.

| Model Creation and Export

Users(architects) can create low-fidelity 3D models in SketchUp(architects daily using tool) and import them into the ‘Access for All’ platform, where they can place ADA checkpoints to evaluate accessibility compliance within the scene.

| Low-fidelity Testing

To minimize the impact of software factors on testing, I did a low-fidelity testing without materials

| User Flow(Scenario created in the platform)

| Welcome Table

| Scenes

After creating checkpints in the scene, users(architects) can go through every key point where design mistakes are likely to occur. They can create different scenarios, e.g.: Entrance, Exhibition Hall, Bathroom, and Elevator. Users can choose any of them on the menu.

| Scene One: Entrance

| Scene Second: Exhibition Hall

| Scene Third: Accessible Bathroom

| Scene Fourth: Accessible Elevator

| ADA Checklists

In the platform, each preset wheelchair symbol represents each checkpoint in the scene. When users move to the wheelchair symbol, an ADA checklist window will pop up. Users(architects) can learn ADA standards by reading(voice explanation will be introduced in the future iteration) text descriptions and Autodesk CAD drawings.
* The specifications and illustrations are related to the scene.