"I Would Also Have Looked at the Eight Goals" - Client's Reflections on the Initial Phase of a Building Project

The Danish building sector has limited experience in integrating Universal Design (UD) into building projects, as accessibility has predominated due to its regulatory status. From an Actor-Network Theory perspective, this paper examines the challenges of integrating UD in the initial phase of a public building project. The project included an architectural competition through which the lead consultant was appointed. Empirically, the paper is based on participant observation at meetings and interviews with three representatives from the client organisation, providing insight into the initiatives undertaken during the process and their reflections on them. Drawing on four empirical vignettes, the study examines the dynamics of translation across several initiatives: the development of a UD scheme, the competition brief, the onboarding process, the establishment of a user panel, and the creation of a UD working group. These initiatives functioned as attempts to enrol and mobilise the lead consultant team in relation to UD. With the exception of the user panel, the study reveals that these initiatives failed as interessement devices to create alliances or associations between UD and the lead consultant team. The client representatives advocate a formalisation of UD comparable to the formalisation of sustainability including the description of services. Regarding the user panel, the client temporarily succeeded in fostering a deeper understanding of user perspectives among team members. However, this momentum was not sustained, as the client chose to shield their own process instead. The discussion centers around the brief and concludes that the failure to integrate UD is rooted in its treatment as an add-on rather than as a basis design premise in the brief.