Grant Recipients
Tara Bissett, School of Architecture
John Lewis, School of Planning
(Project timeline: November 2024 - October 2025)
Description
The project is a collaborative endeavour between the Schools of Architecture and Planning to foreground disability inclusive approaches in spatial design. Although envisioned as a long-term collaboration, the project will be initiated by a day-long workshop about accessibility awareness. Anticipating participation of approximately 80 students, we will be working alongside four co-facilitators, who bring lived experience of disability to the workshop and are experts in spatial design. Integrated into our respective Winter term courses, the workshops offer structured and experiential learning opportunities, asking students to observe, assess, and re-imagine spaces and circulation on campus. Through qualitative surveys, the outcomes will inform the Principal Applicants about which learning approaches are most effective for developing deep knowledge of inclusive design practices. Benefitting students and educators, the workshop is the first stage in a focused plan to co-develop a microcredit course about accessibility and disability inclusion for design students.
Questions Investigated
- How might we think in a disability-inclusive way?
- What types of resources, practices, and processes are integral to working in a disability-inclusive manner?
- How might we design beyond the checklist insofar as to approach accessible design as innovation?
- How does inclusive design benefit People of Colour, Indigenous People, women, elderly folks, and marginalized communities?