Reference is made to the article carried in The Malta Independent Online on 16th July, 2018 entitled ‘70% of applications for accessibility compliance certificates rejected by the CRPD’.
After highlighting some unfounded and rather speculative comments by the CRPD chairman, the journalist seems to have confirmed that the Faculty for the Built Environment, within the University of Malta, takes accessibility issues seriously by “asking a student”; it is not clear how widely he made his enquiries. He would have done better by also asking the Faculty.
For the record, in all of the BSc Design Workshops, in Years 2 and 3, students are required to strive for a holistic approach, which goes beyond the ‘Access for All Guidelines’ - which may be considered as limiting and discriminatory, since they focus solely on physical barriers and persons with mobility issues. The students are encouraged to focus on “universal design”, which is a bit more difficult than simply learning “rules” by heart.
In at least one of the Design Workshops during the BSc programme, students have to work on projects for clients with special needs, and this ranges from people suffering from autism to blindness.
During the March programme then, Access for All Guidelines are but part of a specific focus within a study-unit called “Realities in Architecture”, which also addresses issues like mental health, dementia, etc...
In this regard, the Faculty also works with input from the Head of Department of Disability Studies, in the University.
For the record, the Faculty started focusing on design for people with dementia problems four years ago, in spite of the fact that there are currently no national guidelines or requisites to follow – this is way ahead of most UK universities, where these studies are only starting now.
Prof. Alex Torpiano
Dean, Faculty for the Built Environment