The Architectural Question of Vandhalla – to Compensate or to Stimulate?

In a Danish context, people with mobility impairments suffer from poor health
compared with the rest of the population. They weigh more, exercise less
and participate less in the cultural and social activities of everyday life. However,
persons with disabilities, who are active in sports, are significantly
more often employed, engaged in civic and voluntary activities and have a
higher educational level compared with other persons with disabilities. In
other words, participation in physical activities increases participation in other
fields of society and functions as a lever for individual health and wellbeing.
Egmont, a Danish folk high school has already acknowledged the effect of
sport in its work on rehabilitation, habilitation, health and well-being. Egmont
is open to everyone but a majority of the students are persons with physical
disabilities. In 2013 the new sport centre Vandhalla, which offers numerous
new activities was opened. Using Vandhalla as a case, this article discusses
how universal design in architecture can support the process of habilitation.
Traditionally, accessible design intends to compensate for disabilities, but at
Vandhalla the architecture stimulates rather than compensates. Hence the
universal design of architecture inspires and supports activities as well as
the student’s abilities to be self-reliant. Furthermore it increases the sense of
joy among the students which can be documented in ever-widening circles in
their perceived quality of life.
Empirically, this paper is primarily based on a post-occupancy evaluation of
Vandhalla. Interviews and walk-throughs were conducted with the winning
team, the client, the teachers and the students. Data from other research
projects conducted by the authors are included as examples.
The concept of ‘A Challenging Space’ is introduced and used as an analytical
framework.