Universal Fukuoka City Design Workshop 2014

In order to convey the ‘Friendly People, Friendly City: Universal Fukuoka City’ approach to the public and promote understanding/implementation of universal design among citizens, a design workshop was organized between 5-6 September 2014.

Theme: New Universal Services
Teams of residents and designers used the progressive ‘Inclusive Design’ approach to explore methods for solving issues as part of Fukuoka’s ‘Friendly People, Friendly City’ design.

Team A: Kami(i)
1. Kami(i) Base
Improve functions of museum information desks with visitor services including everything up to the search process.
2. Course Recipe
A support tool used to assist visitors from searching to viewing exhibits.
3. iCon
A service to assist visitors in the process of viewing exhibits. As information is easier to understand if conveyed verbally rather than read from display brochures or captions, we focused on explanations made in person.

Team B: Total Concierge Support
We divided the space inside a hotel into: (1) public spaces such as the lobby and hallways; and (2) private space inside guest rooms. We proposed a solution for each type of space.
(1) For public spaces, we created the new concept of the ‘Little Concierge’, in which all hotel staff take on a concierge-like role.
(2) For private spaces, we created a new ‘Amenity Bento Box’ system which allows a customer to take care of their basic needs by themselves so that they may enjoy their stay in comfort.

Team C: Universal Hotel Services
We explored the hard and soft aspects of establishing the hotel front – the first point of contact for customers – in a way that ensures mutual understanding between visitors and staff.

Hard aspects included making the counter easily accessible upon arrival to facilitate good communication with visitors at the front desk. To cater for various users, we proposed that the counter should be low, with seating to allow visitors to communicate at their own pace.

For the soft aspects, we proposed attaching icons to room keys so that staff may know what services a visitor requires at a glance. We also considered a system in which staff display their specialty or field of expertise so that the visit can begin smoothly from first contact.

For details
Universal Fukuoka City Design Workshop 2014