An importance of accessibility is rising because of European Union’s new regulations. Accessible premises are well-functioning, safe and easy to transact for everyone. Because of the project called “Passeli kaupunki kaikille” accessibility is now in a key position. The purpose of the project is to make Oulu more accessible by 2020. The main focus is to improve public places and city buildings.

We aimed to examine how well the accessibility was considered in the public areas of Kontinkangas welfare center. Our long-term goal was to provoke some changes in the problematic areas. Changes would help both visually impaireds and other customers.

We made a development proposal about the accessibility in Kontinkangas Welfare Center studying its functionality for visually impaired. Our project included qualitative methods which we used for collecting data. Five visually impared volunteers provided us with their opinions about well-functioning solutions and came up with possible improvements. The focus was on how well a visually impaired person can transact by themselves. For each five volunteers we designed a task that reminded an everyday situation. In those tasks each one of them had a different department to find. During and after the tours the volunteers shared their opinions about the premises.

The results for the survey were mainly based on a subjective experience of our volunteers and the criteria found in literature. Each volunteer felt that the building is well-designed and has an easy access but small modifications can make a big difference. Most volunteers pointed out poor contrasts and some wished better guides. Benefit is not only for visually impaired but also every customer that needs to use the services of Kontinkangas Welfare Center.