Visualisation as a Method for Universal Design Research in Accessible Public Bathrooms

Accessible public bathrooms are designed in accordance with highly standardised guidelines intended to support inclusion. However, questions about how wheelchair users interact with these spaces remain underexplored. This paper introduces a design-led methodological approach that uses visualisations to synthesise qualitative research findings and communicate the diversity of interactions with standardised accessible bathroom design. In doing so, it offers a unique reflection on Universal Design as an approach. By positioning each element within a composite lens that brings multiple user perspectives into view simultaneously, the visualisations demonstrate how a single design provision is experienced in different ways depending on who is using it. Drawing on an embodied qualitative study with twelve wheelchair users, who participated in in-situ simulations and interviews physically demonstrating how they navigate bathroom elements, the project translates diverse and often contradictory interactions into a series of annotated visual diagrams. Each diagram is structured around a central principle: the bathroom detail or product, as specified in AS1428.1, is placed at the centre, with diverse modes of use mapped around it. This compositional approach makes visible how a single, standardised fixture is engaged with in multiple and overlapping ways across different users, and how these interactions are further shaped by the condition and maintenance of the element. This paper argues that visualisation as a method and output offers a new mode of communicating embodied difference to designers, policymakers, and facility managers, supporting more inclusive and evidence-based design practice.