ER19 Getting universal design into new builds and major renovations (December 2016)

This report provides an integrated analysis of data arising from a BRANZ Levy-funded research project into universal design housing. The three data sets are:

• 33 interviews with householders who were living in dwellings designed for LifeMark accreditation
• survey data from 16 builders who report having built dwellings they consider as accessible
• survey data from 186 householders living in new or substantially renovated homes.

Whether delivering housing or consuming housing, there remains a deep lack of awareness of universal design. What is even more problematic is the apparent inability to access accessible design from the building industry even when it is desired and explicitly sought by householders.

This divergence between consumer desire and what the industry is able or willing to deliver is not new. It reinforces the profound limits of a consumer sovereignty model as an effective approach to drawing better and more-responsive performance from the building industry.