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Physical accessibility to public buildings

Public buildings, including schools, must be constructed so that they comply with Danish rules and regulations for physical accessibility. However, most Danish buildings were constructed before these rules went into force, and therefore only very few schools are accessible for all groups of disabled.

"Accessibility to educational institutions in Denmark - Examples of Practice" describes and illustrates examples of accessibility to educational institutions in Denmark and how to make them accessible to as many users as possible. The English version is available from here.

Physical accessibility

Rules and regulations

The Building Regulations of 1995 contain a number of accessibility requirements. Since 1995, construction of all public buildings shall be made in accordance with the general requirements stating that all building constructions must be of satisfactory quality and fit for use by everyone with regard to safety, health and accessibility conditions as well as conditions for cleaning and maintenance.

Unfortunately, a number of educational institutions in Denmark are not fit for use by all groups of disabled. The owners (most often the municipalities, the county or the State) are not obliged to rebuild the institutions so that they comply with the Building Regulations introduced after the buildings were constructed in the first place. But in case of renovation or alterations of older buildings that have been used for other purposes, the work must be done in compliance with the accessibility requirements set out in the Building Regulations 1995.

The Building Regulations are supplemented with two other legally binding rules, one that lays down guidelines for constructors and one that contains a circular on building and construction.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman in Denmark (Folketingets Ombudsmand) is entitled to inspect buildings to estimate their level of accessibility and to request improvements if necessary. So far this has been done in two Danish universities.

Standards

he Danish Standards Association introduced a standard called DS 3028 - General accessibility" in 2001. It is not yet legally binding but it offers general guidelines for appropriate accessibility solutions, based on concrete knowledge and experience.

DS 3028 is very detailed and provides practical solutions of accessibility questions within all areas of building and construction. The requirements for accessibility recommended in the standard are often higher than those required by the Building Regulations.

The Danish Standards Association

Further information about physical accessibility is available from the Danish Centre for Accessibility