The Curious History of Tactile Ground Surface Indicators
Tenji Blocks
Tactile Ground Surface Indicators did not always look the same as they do today. They were invented by Seiichi Miyake in Japan in 1965 with the purpose of helping people with impaired vision to know of upcoming hazards such as cars or trains. Tenji is the Japanese equivalent of braille, a tactile writing system which allows people with low vision to read a surface through touch. His invention was named Tenji Blocks, as they are designed for people to “read” them with their feet or a white cane.
After two years of self-funded prototypes, Miyake’s Tenji Blocks were first installed in March of 1967 at a street located near a school for the blind in Okayama City. And in 1970 a school for the blind in Osaka requested the Japanese National Railway to install them at the nearby Abikocho Station. This prompted other stations to follow and popularity quickly increased, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government budgeting for 10,000 Tenji blocks to be installed within the Takadanobaba neighbourhood which had many facilities for people with vision impairments including the Japan Braille Library.
Design Standardisation in Japan
Despite being mandated in 1985 for widespread use throughout Japan there were many inconsistencies in pattern designs and the meaning of different colours used, leading to confusion for those using the blocks. It wasn’t until 2001 that Japan introduced a national industry standard for the Tenji Blocks, settling on a 5x5 blister pattern for the Hazard style, and four long bars for the Directional style blocks).
International Variants
Different versions of these Tactile Ground Surface Indicators have been adopted and experimented with by many countries across the world.
In the UK there are 6 main types of TGSI’s known as Blister (for pedestrian crossing points), Offset-Blister for off-street platform edges, Lozenge style for on-street platform edges, Cycle Track, Corduroy (for specific upcoming hazards such as level crossings), and Directional (also known as guidance path).
Australia and New Zealand use the AS/NZS 1428.4.1 Standard for many parts of the design and layout of tactile indicators, but where Australia uses the National Construction Code (NCC) and the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), New Zealand uses NZS 4121 and RTS14 (Guidelines for facilities for blind and vision-impaired pedestrians). The AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009 helps to standardise many aspects of TGSI design, dimensions, spacing, layout, location, as well as colour contrast requirements. This standardisation allows manufacturers, builders and users to avoid confusion and benefit from consistent design intention and product performance.
In some countries such as Malaysia or Vietnam, the directional tactile indicators can sometimes be found to be carved down into the pavement, rather than with protrusions above the ground level.
Walking into the Future
From Tenji Blocks to modern Tactile Ground Surface Indicators, Seiichi Miyake’s invention has created a lasting legacy throughout the world. By helping people with impaired vision to be able to independently “read” of nearby hazards and safe pathways, these simple pavement changes continue to change lives.
If you have any upcoming projects that would benefit from Tactile Ground Surface Indicators, please let us know and we will do our best to help you. You can explore our range of tactiles here: www.archskirt.com.au/tactiles, or you can download our Tactiles brochure below.