Page Navigation
Construction
- Barrierfree Building and Product Design
- Thermal Insulation Products For Buildings
- Plastic Pipes, Fittings, Inspection Chambers, Seals, And Their Basic Materials

Barrierfree Building and Product Design - a better life without hindrance

The mark of equal opportunity for all

Irrespective of age, capability, disability or social standing, all of us, as human beings, as partners in society, have the same right to

equal opportunity,
self-determination, and
independence,

that is to lead a life as free as possible, free from any form of discrimination, in our chosen surroundings.

In the industrialised countries, increasing life expectancy, coupled with a drop in the birth rate, is leading to a shift in the demographic structure of society, to a sharp rise in the proportion of older people in the population. This demographic development involves both social and economic aspects. Architects, town planners and designers must take due account of both aspects in their work. The criteria of barrier-free building and living specified in DIN Standards have proved a reliable foundation on which such considerations may fruitfully be based.

Major goals of the standards target improvements in the field of public buildings and personal environment, in private and public transport, in leisure and travel, in product and communication design at all levels, as well as in engineering and applied technology. These aims also include the enhancement of training and further education programmes and the improvement of workplaces for the disabled as a means of ensuring equal rights and duties for all.

What is assessed and evaluated?

Planning and implementation of infrastructure measures, buildings of all types (dwellings, public buildings, and workplaces), public spaces and traffic areas, products, appliances, aids and services are all assessed, evaluated and certified in terms of planning and of the fulfilment and functional implementation of the requirements based on the barrier-free criteria specified in the relevant DIN Standards.

The standards that set standards

DIN 18024-1 Barrier-free building, Part 1: Streets, squares, paths, public areas and parks, including playgrounds
DIN 18024-2 Barrier-free building, Part 2: Buildings and workplaces open to the public
DIN 18025-1 Part 1: Barrier-free accommodation for wheelchair users
DIN 18025-2 Part 2: Barrier-free dwellings

Standard in preparation

DIN 18030 Barrier-free building (Summary and qualification of existing standards)
DIN 33942 Barrier-free playground equipment
DIN 33455 Barrierfree products - Principles and requirements

What are the advantages?

Marks give consumers information and transmit a clear message. They help consumers make decisions and that enhances the market opportunities of the products and services that display them. In the case of the DIN Barrier-free Mark, the effect is more wide-reaching still. The criteria characterising a product as barrier-free define basic aspects of functionality and usability. Users of all ages, particularly those with disabilities, are well aware of the different possibilities in the design of a product. Given the choice, they will decide in favour of products that are barrier-free.

Barrier-free design is innovative and it saves on costs because it takes account in advance of problems that would later require complicated and expensive solutions. Barrier-free architecture and barrier-free products are multifunctional. Barrier-free building is one of the challenges of our age and a pioneering approach to the society of the future. Barrier-free certification prepares and paves the way for both user and supplier.

The mark

Products or services that meet barrier-free criteria are awarded the certification mark DIN Barrier-free as proof of conformity.

The mark, which is awarded subsequent to assessment and certification by DIN CERTCO, the certification company of the German Institute for Standardisation, DIN, combines the world-renowned collective mark DIN with the criterion "barrier-free". It has already gained high standing. The concept "barrier-free" is defined in standards and is applied world-wide.

The assessors

For assessment and evaluation purposes, DIN CERTCO draws on the resources of scientific institutes, user organisations, and on acknowledged experts for architecture, urban planning, and design.

A life "without barriers" is an acknowledged goal of our society. The creation of a community in which no-one feels discriminated against requires us to devise an environment and infrastructure that provide all sections of society - including the young, the disabled, the elderly, and the sick - with equal opportunities to lead an independent life on equal footing.

Barrier-free design is comprehensive in its approach: public spaces, roads, buildings, dwellings, workplaces, equipment and appliances - all these and more fall within its scope. Achieving barrier-free design quality for the products of daily life in the kitchen, the bathroom, at work and at play, is a challenge for engineers and designers.

Freedom from discrimination - a constitutional right - will only be achieved when all buildings and products meet the fundamental criteria of barrier-free design.
Exploit the expertise of DIN in standardisation.
Exploit the expertise of DIN CERTCO in conformity assessment.

We shall be happy to provide you with all the information you may need.
By means of assessment, evaluation and certification with the mark DIN Barrier-free, DIN CERTCO opens a gateway to an environment in which forethought has made life easier for people of all ages.