Universal Design: 7 Design Principles for Equal Access to Every Space
Universal Design is a set of 7 principles for designing environments that serve older adults, people with disabilities and everyone else — creating equal access to every space, for everyone.
Since 1947, across more than 79 years, Cibes Lift has stood by the idea of “Bring People Together” — because we believe a lift does more than carry people between floors; it connects people of every age. In an era when the population is ageing and everyone wants comfort backed by safety, we build lifts that give everyone equal access to every part of the home. That is exactly the direction Universal Design points in: “accessible, equal, forward-looking and sustainable.”
What Is Universal Design and Why Does It Matter?
Universal Design (UD) is the practice of designing environments for every group of people — older adults (elderly people), able-bodied users and people with disabilities alike. It removes obstacles (barrier-free) from everyday use and creates equal access to spaces and services. Designing so that everyone can get in and take part is a principle that raises the quality of the places we share, leaving no one behind.
The Heart of Universal Design
At its heart, Universal Design invites the public into the design process by recognising the limitations people live with and taking the time to understand them. Those insights become the conditions the design must answer to, so that it fits the daily lives of everyone — including people with disabilities and older adults — and gives every person equal access to the space.
Organisations and Universal Design: Changing for Sustainability
Equal access to space is something both the public and private sectors should take seriously. The value a Universal Design approach delivers is international credibility and the ability to keep pace with the world — and it adds value to the organisation itself, signalling a vision built on equality for all people.
Universal Design: A Global Standard and the Future of Thai Society
Universal Design is a design philosophy that lets everyone reach and use a space equally. It began with legislation in the United States and has since spread around the world, Thailand included.
- Where Universal Design came from: it started with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the US more than 30 years ago, which led to environments designed for everyone to access.
- Universal Design in Thailand began in 1991 with legislation on facilities for people with disabilities, followed in 2005 by a ministerial regulation setting out required facilities in buildings.
- Universal Design will only grow in importance, because Thailand has become an ageing society: 20% of the population is 60 or older, and globally older adults will make up more than 10% of everyone alive.
Adopting Universal Design therefore does more than answer the needs of people with disabilities and older adults — it builds an environment that supports everyone equally and keeps Thailand in step with a changing world.
Applying Universal Design in Organisations, Offices and Public Spaces
Bringing Universal Design into organisations, offices and public spaces is not about aesthetics. It is about creating spaces everyone can reach and use equally — especially people with disabilities and older adults. For example:
- Provide clear wayfinding signs and symbols so the space is easy to understand and easy to use.
- Set aside parking for people with disabilities and older adults close to key service points.
- Build ramps and lifts to standard, wide enough and at the right gradient for wheelchair users.
- Add information points and audio guidance for people with visual impairments.
- Design the organisation’s shared home — the central space everyone should be able to reach and use equally.
Applying Universal Design makes the environment friendlier for everyone, creates genuine equality, and supports more effective management of the organisation.
Designing a Home Around the 7 Principles of Universal Design
A home should be designed around the 7 core principles of Universal Design, which are as follows.
1. Equitable Use
Everyone deserves equal access to every space, so a design has to account for how each group actually uses it — a ramp that takes a wheelchair, for instance, or speakers positioned so sound carries clearly across an auditorium for people with visual impairments who rely mainly on hearing.
2. Flexibility in Use
Flexibility means offering choices that keep access equal. In a home, that might be designing the way information is presented so it comes through both visually and as sound (audio description), meeting the needs of people with visual impairments.
3. Simple and Intuitive Use
Simplicity at home comes from stripping out complexity — in wording and in controls alike. Everything should be easy for every group to understand: fewer buttons on a control panel, or larger ones that older adults can press with confidence.
4. Perceptible Information
Information, in Universal Design terms, is the communication between a user and the space around them — usually signs or symbols that explain how to use it, such as restroom signs, direction signs or fire-exit markers.
5. Tolerance for Error (Safety)
Designing public spaces to Universal Design principles means putting everyone’s safety first. For example:
- Ramps and lifts in transit stations and shopping malls, so older adults and wheelchair users can move around safely.
- Clear alarm systems and directional signage for people with visual impairments or limited sight.
- Easily reachable emergency evacuation areas, which reduce risk and confusion when the unexpected happens.
At Cibes Lift, we carry this principle straight into how our lifts are designed, holding to international safety standards.
Cibes Lift Manufacturing Standards
Quality Management System Standard (ISO 9001:2015)
The Cibes Lift factory in Jiaxing is certified to the Quality Management System standard (ISO 9001:2015), the international standard that sets out the requirements for a quality management system (QMS) — a framework organisations adopt to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.
Environmental Management System Standard (ISO 14001:2015)
The Cibes Lift factory in Jiaxing is also certified to the Environmental Management System standard (ISO 14001:2015), an international framework organisations use to build an effective Environmental Management System (EMS). It helps them identify and manage environmental impacts systematically — reducing pollution, using resources sustainably and continually improving environmental performance. Cibes Lift is genuinely committed to sustainability, for society and for the people who use our lifts.
European Lift Product Standard (EN81-41:2015) by Liftinstituut
The Cibes lift factory in Jiaxing also holds the European lift product standard (EN81-41:2015) by Liftinstituut — a key standard covering the European manufacturing process for home lifts specifically, and one of the most widely recognised inspection standards across Europe. It is comparable to the American ASME 17.1 standard.
Machinery Manufacturing Standard (Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC)
This is a key requirement for machinery sold in the European Union (EU), written above all to protect the safety of the people who operate and use it. The standard covers the design, manufacture and installation of machinery in order to reduce the risks that can arise in use, including guarding against malfunctions and ensuring maintenance can be carried out safely.
SIL Level 3 Safety Standard
Safety Integrity Level (SIL) measures the impact of a safety instrumented function (SIF). The assessment weighs the kind of accident that could occur, how likely it is, the mechanisms involved and the consequences in terms of cost. A higher SIL means a greater reduction in the risk of harm, and SIL 3 is regarded as the appropriate level here. Cibes Lift platform lifts run at a standard speed of 0.15 m/s.
6. Low Physical Effort
This principle is about asking as little physical effort of the user as possible, so that everyone can get around. Designs built on low physical effort include automatic door systems and fingerprint scanners that unlock a door with a touch.
7. Size and Space for Approach and Use
A home designed with Universal Design in mind should give everyone room to move comfortably, without being limited by their body or by a mobility aid. For example:
Universal Design Inside the Home
- Wide enough doorways and hallways for wheelchair users, or older adults with a walking stick, to move freely.
- Kitchen and work areas with counters and cabinets set at heights that are easy to reach, for older adults and children alike.
- Bathrooms with generous clearance around the toilet and basin, plus grab rails, so they can be used safely.
- The area around the house should leave enough open space for a wheelchair to turn or reverse.
Designed this way, a home lets everyone in it — children, adults and older family members — go about daily life equally and comfortably.
Lift Models Suited to Homes Built on Universal Design
1.Cibes Air
The Cibes Air® home lift gives you the freedom to design your lift exactly as you want it, adding beauty, comfort and value to your home.
2.Kithara Lift
Kithara Lift is a luxury high-back platform lift with a distinctive hexagonal form and refined LiT RGBW lighting. Its 27-inch touch control panel adds voice control and facial recognition — luxury and safety on another level.
3.Cibes V80 Aurora
Cibes V80 Aurora is a new home lift inspired by Nordic style, with panoramic glass and a smart touch control panel, and up to 3 entry and exit points to choose from.
In the end, Universal Design is more than a design philosophy — it is how we build a society everyone can genuinely take part in, whether they are older adults, people with disabilities or anyone else. Start by changing the small spaces around you, and they add up to a society that is equal and safe for all.
