THE FACT OF THE APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ON THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED COLLEGE BUILDINGS AT KING SAUD UNIVERSITY

Abstract

King Saud University (KSU) is considered to be one of the largest universities in Saudi Arabia in term of number of students. Persons with disabilities could almost found in each building of the campus. Despite of the fact that the Royal Declaration - issued since two decades ago - that stresses on facilitate all buildings for the easy use of persons with disabilities, and the fact that the Ministry of Rural and Municipal Affairs has published a regulation booklet indicates services should be included; most of the buildings within the campus aren't suited for persons with disabilities. The aim of this study is to explore and inspect the application of these standards and requirements. The methodology depends on choosing a sample of newly constructed buildings at KSU campus. A field survey has been conducted to collect data and take photos of provided services to determine its existence and compliance with general and specific requirements set forth in the ministry booklet. The study proved invalidity of the hypothesis that the newly constructed buildings within the university campus designed by famous architects Saudis or non-Saudi and approved by the university agency for construction and projects apply the requirements and technical standards for the disabled and people with special needs. It was found that some elements of public and private requirements for disabled, such as external signage, and parking are not available. While, other elements such as slopes, interior signage, and toilets are either partial provided or incomplete or its dimensions doesn't comply with the requirements. The lack of awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities is not limited to ordinary people but also include the renowned architects. The Vice Rectorate for Projects bears main responsibility for the absence of such services and deficiencies in the application of the requirements for the disabled. Mean while, consulting firms that designed such buildings bear part of responsibility too.