While you first encounter the “Common Design” idea, it’d sound like a stable thought—approaching design with the intention of serving everybody—proper on! What’s to not love about that? Effectively, because it seems, there’s quite a bit to not love about that, which I lately realized firsthand from Dr. Victoria Lanteigne.
Dr. Lanteigne is a Principal of Analysis at Steven Winter Associates (SWA), the place she’s developed a brand new useful resource geared toward serving to practitioners embed fairness within the design of the constructed surroundings. Introducing the Constructing Fairness Normal (BEST). Aided by her background in public coverage, Dr. Lanteigne created BEST as an antidote to the Common Design college of thought. “The reality is, contemplating all folks without delay doesn’t genuinely improve the lives of anybody,” she says. As a result of whereas it’d sound like a swell thought, designing for “everybody” is unattainable, contemplating the innumerable variations inside the human race. Humanity can’t be handled as a monolith, the place we flatten and simplify nuance and selection between people within the title of equality. As a substitute, we should always attempt for fairness inside design, the place marginalized identities are acknowledged, celebrated, and particularly designed for.
Upon listening to about BEST, I used to be keen to talk with Dr. Lanteigne on to be taught extra. She lately gave me a primer on her analysis and opened my eyes to a number of the pitfalls of Common Design and the methods BEST makes an attempt to handle these gaps. Our dialog is under.
(Interview edited for readability and size.)
What’s your background within the subject of equitable and inclusive design? When did you first understand that Common Design isn’t the answer?
I’m distinctive within the structure world as a result of I’ve a background in public coverage; I began my profession doing incapacity coverage work. I used to be primarily given a portfolio of all of those circumstances of non-compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act. It grew to become obvious that compliance and accessibility had been actually necessary, and non-compliance was an enormous downside.
From there, I simply snowballed into understanding not solely the authorized necessities however how little they do by way of affording accessibility. I realized concerning the thought of going above and past what was required by regulation and code to reinforce experiences for folks with bodily disabilities, sensory disabilities (listening to and imaginative and prescient), totally different cognitive skills, and the way folks course of info. That curiosity early on in my profession made me curious as to how we create areas that transcend incapacity inclusion, taking a look at marginalized teams based mostly on gender, LGBTQ identification, race, faith, or when you communicate English as a second language. So, how do our environments form our experiences, after which what are the design methods to realize these extra equitable environments?
I took an illuminating disabilities research course in school the place my professor framed disabilities as socially constructed. Individuals are solely disabled as a result of the world round them isn’t constructed for them, which is what creates an incapability. Studying that definition was mind-blowing to me.
I really like that you just simply shared the Social Mannequin of Incapacity with me! Not many individuals know of it and even perceive it. It describes a key shift; it’s not an inherent downside with the particular person. It’s how the surroundings is designed (or not designed) to adapt or help folks of various skills.
Are you able to give an instance of a Common Design idea that typifies how most of our designed world doesn’t meet marginalized folks’s wants?
The curb reduce is probably the most basic instance of Common Design (which is boring, but it surely will get the job carried out). It’s a basic instance as a result of its intent is to help folks in a wheelchair and folks with mobility points, however on the similar time, it additionally helps any individual pushing a stroller or folks carrying rolling baggage, bikers, and younger youngsters. The premise of Common Design is that one design technique may be cross-cutting, so it helps incapacity inclusion, but it surely’s additionally helpful for everybody.
This terminology is like “design for all” or “design for everybody,” which began within the Nineteen Seventies and Eighties, perhaps a bit earlier than, however we nonetheless see it at the moment. The truth is that one design definitely can’t profit everybody. Realistically, that’s unattainable once we have a look at this from an fairness lens—which is simply starting in structure. Proper now, there’s this concept of 1 design for everybody versus having an fairness perspective, which is ensuring that we’re prioritizing marginalized teams’ and marginalized communities’ wants. These are two various things.
Universalism says one for everybody. Fairness says we’ve bought to shore up these gaps and ensure we’re designing areas for neglected teams which were underrepresented in design without end. We’re simply starting to see areas that say, That is designed by and for the LGBTQ+ group. That’s necessary to me as a result of I determine as a member of that group. These locations use design methods that mirror a protected area; we surveyed the group, and that’s mirrored in that design. We’re not going to say it’s additionally designed for everybody. It’s a nuanced distinction, and it’s nonetheless laborious for the structure {industry} to get behind as a result of there’s that “usefulness” of structure that folks wish to fall again on. This concept that, sure, it’s for a selected group, but it surely’s nonetheless good for everybody. That’s an fascinating, ongoing debate. I don’t suppose Common Design is mistaken or unhealthy. Fairness is only a totally different manner to have a look at it.
Are you able to level to an instance of a design or idea created with the BEST framework?
BEST continues to be actually new, so it has but to be utilized. Nonetheless, the analysis I did to develop it’s based mostly on 4 case research that tapped into numerous marginalized communities, listened to what these communities had been saying, and summarized and synthesized that into this useful resource.
A kind of case research was the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian American Expertise in Seattle, Washington. The architects and the museum labored hand-in-hand with the AAPI group in Seattle to ensure they had been designing a culturally protected and celebratory area that additionally captured the Asian immigrant expertise. So, you see quite a lot of very particular design methods in that mission. For instance, art work that captures each the sweetness and issue of the Asian immigrant expertise. The group additionally wished to take care of sure points of historic design that they felt informed the narrative and story of immigrant experiences, so there are quite a lot of traditionally preserved artifacts and items. After which one thing as little because the group wished a celebration room. Earlier than the museum, there wasn’t an area to assemble and have fun, in order that they included this stunning, celebratory area. These methods instantly mirror what the group stated they wished and wanted.
One other one of many case research was the memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza. The workforce there was working to revitalize the Harvey Milk transit cease within the Castro District for a few years and surveying the group to determine how this area cannot solely work to honor Harvey Milk as a civil rights and LGBTQ+ rights chief but additionally how can it higher have fun the group.
This mission continues to be ongoing, however actually fascinating design parts there communicate to supporting ongoing activism for LGBTQ+ rights. For example, there’s a pedestal on the nook that the group wished to maintain to raise and lift the voices of the LGBTQ+ group bodily. It’s a singular technique that may not apply to all initiatives, but it surely suits right here. These sorts of distinctive design initiatives are what I constructed BEST round, and I hope it will likely be used to create sooner or later as new initiatives start to undertake it.
What are your long-term targets for BEST? What’s your dream situation for seeing BEST carried out throughout the structure {industry}?
Proper now, it’s in a piloting part, which is thrilling, and we’re actively on the lookout for the appropriate companions to start constructing this. These companions can look very totally different. They are often college tutorial companions, community-based organizations, or tenant illustration organizations. A broad brush of stakeholders goes to assist increase BEST.
My preferrred hope, whether or not it’s with BEST or whether or not it’s simply with fairness normally (although I hope it’s with BEST), is that we get to some extent the place fairness is taken into account an integral a part of the design course of, similar to sustainability is, and similar to how wholesome constructing is starting to be. Proper now, we’re very far-off from that. I hope that as BEST continues to develop, it can change into a useful resource that’s strong sufficient to be an industry-adopted normal, like LEED (Management in Power and Environmental Design), like WELL, like Enterprise Inexperienced, and many others.
