Building Design: The Importance of Flooring Pattern and Finish for People with a Visual Impairment

Abstract

The design of public access buildings offers opportunities to select features, patterns and finishes for building elements which are optimal for the residual vision of visually impaired people. As part of a larger questionnaire survey, a sample of 676 visually impaired people reported on where they looked while moving about in buildings and which floor designs and finishes they found helpful or detrimental. The results suggest that visual aspects of floor design are especially important to visually impaired people when obtaining information for navigation and that plain uniform patterning with matt finishes are preferred. Some implications for designers are discussed.