CREJ

26 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / June 2020 ELEMENTS Inclusive Design Inclusive Design: Architects as Facilitators for Agency A s human beings, we are wired to participate in our communities, so we can have a sense of belonging. Inclusion deals with this sense of participation, collaboration, empathy and diversity while inclusive design is the design of a product, service or space that is universally accessible without adaptation of any user. Buildings and cities play a major role in how communities interact and often influence how inclusive or exclusive a space or urban area can be. Architects have the opportunity, and the responsibility to be advocates for inclu- sion. As architects, we are the agents for agency – advocates for all known and unknown users with wide-ranging abilities in the spaces we de- sign. The challenge is how do architects gain the knowledge to create environments for all capabil- ities. Architects have tools to achieve inclusivity in our work; however, we also need to educate ourselves and ask for help to understand specif- ic needs. Inclusive design is the process by which we can gain insight beyond our own capabilities and perceptions. It is important because it not only deals with physical and mental disabilities and abil- ities but also racial, cultural and socio-economic identities and circumstances. Many of the tools we employ focus on providing voice for self-advocacy. Honestly, within our current times of self-distanc- ing from COVID-19, we are working ever more dili- gently to find ways to employ technology to deeply engage our stakeholders. The seed of inclusive design is empathy, seeking better ways of engaging and allowing a broad di- versity of voices to aid in how we may imagine our built environment. Hansel Bauman, Campus Archi- tect for Gallaudet University inWashington, D.C., the first university for the deaf and hard of hearing in the world, sums it up like this: “Concern and aware- ness of another’s condition and how that will set up an impact on the conversation will allow for the ar- chitecture to manifest itself. Architects are trained to imagine and build the environment in which we live in and make it real. You would think that at the core of architectural education, what we’re about – as architects –would be to have skills and the toolset that enables us to literally, very physically embody this idea of empathy, or of understanding the other.” With mindfulness of dimension, form, light, ma- terial and color, architects can shape environments that reflect the needs of those with differing abili- ties and ways of experiencing the world. It is the us- ers with whomwe engage who can enlighten us on the uniqueness of being and differences of navigat- ing spaces. Considerations for people of all abilities, reinforced by the aesthetics, ultimately can result in design that allows users to participate in communi- ty. Inclusive design empowers the users by provid- ing independence and ownership of the space. Projects at Gallaudet University and the Rosedale School in Austin, Texas, embrace and illustrate inclu- sive design thinking and processes. Our work at Gallaudet University is shepherded by the university’s DeafSpace guidelines, which detail how to create appropriate environments for the users where interactions rely on visual and tac- tile communication. We have completed numerous projects on the campus using the guidelines and Viviana Trevino Designer, Page Todd Ray Principal, Page Gallaudet University Multidisciplinary STM Laboratories: an award-winning 63,000-sf STM laboratory renovation and expansion provided state-of-the-art research and support facilities. The design is guided by the DeafSpace guidelines set forth by the university. In teaching spaces when a professor needs to call a classroom to order, alternative notification systems are required. Lighting fluctuation has proven to be the most successful and reliable system for notifications in Deaf Spaces.