Accessibility of Cultural Heritage Sites for People with Reduced Mobility: Architectural Approaches and Practical Solutions

Abstract

This article addresses the pressing challenge of creating an architecturally accessible environment at cultural heritage sites. It examines the theoretical foundations of the universal design concept, the principles of international heritage protection legislation, and the rights of people with reduced mobility. Special attention is given to the tension between accessibility requirements and the principles governing the preservation of historic buildings, and methodological tools for resolving this tension are proposed. Using the Gur-Emir architectural ensemble in Samarkand, Uzbekistan — a fifteenth-century monument inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List — as a case study, the article analyses accessibility barriers and proposes a set of concrete architectural adaptations that comply with the principles of minimum intervention and reversibility. The guiding principles of an architectural concept for integrating accessibility elements into the historic setting are formulated. The findings are applicable to the development of methodological guidelines for adapting other historic heritage sites.