Valor et Solutions | Presse Valor press

Wolf Wolfensberger (1977/1995)

This approximately 50-page book (9 x 11) is a reprint of a book chapter, It spells out the implications of normalization to the design of service settings, especially settings for societally devalued people, such as the elderly, the handicapped, and the poor. It briefly explains some common major negative social roles in which members of devalued classes are seen, and get cast, and how these roles can be expressed in physical settings.

The roles are: subhuman organism, menace, diseased organism, object of ridicule, object of pity, burden of charity, eternal child, holy innocent. As an example, the perception that a person is in the role of menace may be expressed in bars on the windows, locks on everything, and protection of the environment from users. The normalization principle is then explained, and what it would imply to facility location, appearance, design, and décor.