Journal Article

Designing accessible and independent living spaces for visually impaired individuals: a barrier-free approach to interior design

Patil, Anushka, Raghani, Smruti

2025

Overview

Background Globally, 39 million people are blind, and an additional 246 million experience moderate to severe visual impairment (WHO, 2021). These impairments severely affect navigation, safety, and daily—task performance. Studies show that 70% of individuals with visual impairments face falls annually, and many report challenges with spatial awareness and cognitive load. Adaptive design offers solutions that utilize sensory input, spatial predictability, and barrier-free layouts to address these challenges. This study explores accessible interior design principles to empower visually impaired individuals with greater independence and comfort in their homes. This study investigates the principles of adaptive design in creating safe, independent, and comfortable living spaces for individuals with visual impairments, a condition affecting over 285 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The research emphasizes barrier-free environments with unobstructed pathways, tactile and auditory cues, and consistent spatial arrangements to enhance accessibility. By integrating sensory elements like contrasting textures, lighting, and acoustic treatments, the project aims to foster spatial awareness, safety, and autonomy. Engaging visually impaired residents in the design process ensured tailored solutions that empower independence and well-being. The findings highlight the transformative potential of inclusive design in enriching the daily lives of those with visual challenges. Methods The research involved case studies, user interviews, and participatory design workshops with visually impaired individuals aged between 18 and 75. Key challenges included trip hazards, inconsistent layouts, and sensory overload. Design strategies such as tactile navigation systems, acoustic enhancements, and optimized lighting layouts were tested. Tactile navigation systems use textured flooring, Braille signage, and raised pathways to aid visually impaired individuals. Acoustic enhancements include sound cues, echolocation-friendly materials, and noise reduction techniques to improve spatial awareness. Optimized lighting layouts feature uniform illumination, glare reduction, and adaptive lighting to enhance visibility. These strategies are implemented through tactile paving, contrasting textures, natural sound sources, sound-absorbing panels, motion-activated LEDs, and diffused lighting. Together, they create an accessible environment that enhances safety, independence, and ease of navigation for visually impaired individuals, ensuring a more intuitive and user-friendly spatial experience. Over 80% of participants highlighted the need for tactile and auditory cues to aid navigation. Feedback loops ensured practical and effective outcomes. Results Implementing adaptive design features resulted in a 40% reduction in reported falls and a 25% decrease in cognitive fatigue during navigation. Textured handrails, non-glare materials, and consistent furniture placement improved confidence in navigation for 90% of participants. Enhanced lighting solutions, such as natural and task lighting, were appreciated by 75% of users, while acoustic treatments improved spatial awareness for 65%. Conclusions Adaptive design demonstrates immense potential in transforming residential spaces for visually impaired individuals. By integrating multi-sensory elements and prioritizing user-centric approaches, these designs foster independence, dignity, and improved quality of life. The findings highlight that inclusive design strategies can address challenges faced by over 1.3 billion people globally with some form of visual or functional impairment, underscoring the need for wider adoption.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Access to information / Accessibility / Accessible living / Acoustics / Adult / Age groups / Aged / Americans with Disabilities Act 1990-US / Architectural Accessibility - methods / Architectural Accessibility - standards / Architecture and disabled persons / Barrier-free design / Barrier-free environments / Blindness / Braille / Co-design / Echolocation / Efficiency / Engineering research / Equality and Human Rights / Fatigue / Feedback loops / Female / Flooring / Glare / Handicapped accessibility / Health aspects / Health Policy / Health Promotion and Disease Prevention / Health Services Research / Homes and haunts / Humans / Hypotheses / Illumination / Impairment / Inclusion / Inclusive design / Independent Living / Individual task lighting / Interior design / Interior Design and Furnishings - methods / Interior Design and Furnishings - standards / Layouts / Lighting / Macular degeneration / Male / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Middle Aged / Mobility / Navigation behavior / Navigation systems / Noise reduction / People with disabilities / Persons with Visual Disabilities / Professionals / Public Health / Quality of life / Review / Safety / Sensory integration / Social Justice / Social Policy / Sound sources / Sound transmission / Spatial awareness / User-centric design / Visual impairment / Visually disabled persons / Well being