DEA 4100 - [Diversity and Facility Design]

(LAD-HE)

Spring. Next offered 2018-2019. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: DEA 1500, DEA 1110, or permission of instructor. Some of the exercises will require travel off campus.

L. Maxwell.

The course examines the role of culture, gender, stage in the life cycle, and disability in planning facilities of various types including public spaces, educational and healthcare spaces, residential spaces and the workplace. This course examines the issues of diversity from the perspectives if the implicit and explicit assumptions about the user and how we purposely plan facilities in a diverse society.

Outcome 1: Examine implicit and explicit design assumptions related to potential users of various facility types (critical thinking).

Outcome 2: Examine what design means in a culturally diverse society. Students use human factors, psychological, and design perspectives to examine environments (multidisciplinary perspectives).

Outcome 3: Consider the value of full participation of different types of users in various facilities and settings (ethical principles).