Accessible University: Architectural Design for Special Needs Users Integration. Design Proposals for Politecnico di Torino

: In Italian and international universities, more and more attention is paid to special needs users who are part of the student and academic community. The socalled special needs are students and employers with specific needs deriving from physical disabilities or cognitive difficulties of different nature and severity, for whom it is necessary to provide specific services for the ordinary carrying out of their activities forward their full inclusion in the university community. The problem of special needs full inclusion must be addressed by overcoming the idea that they constitute a separate group from the rest of the community. Indeed, there should not be a project for special needs, but all spaces should be inclusive and designed "for all". The paper describes the TAL, Turin Accessibility Lab research group, activities concern the accessibility of study spaces, within the perspectives of Politecnico di Torino Masterplan and with the involvement of the users themselves and in collaboration with the institutional actors who deal with users with special needs.