Peter-Willem Vermeersch

Socially innovating architectural design practice by mobilising disability experience. An exploratory study

ABSTRACT Well-considered building codes turn out to be insufficient to ensure inclusive building design, suggesting a need for change in how building accessibility is addressed in architectural design practice. This article presents Rent-a-Spatialist, an attempt at socially innovating architectural design practice based on the skills of disabled people. Due to their particular interaction with the built environment, disabled people are able to appreciate spatial qualities architects may not be attuned to, which would contribute to a more inclusive built environment. Because this ability is rarely used in architectural design practice, and disabled people have a vulnerable position on the job market, we explored the potential of mobilising disability experience as a consultancy service to inform architectural design practice, which connects improving material conditions with improving social relations. To this end we probed the interest in such a service by interviewing 34 built environment professionals involved in building design and construction or exploitation in Belgium or the Netherlands. In addition, seven disabled people and 12 HR experts specialised in workforce diversity were interviewed about the potential of the envisaged service. Findings suggest that the service could strengthen disabled peoples position on the job market by enabling them to gain work experience. However, efforts are needed to convince built environment professionals of its added value, and to clarify issues related to disabled peoples employee status.

How Do Older Residents Experience a Recently Built Innovative Housing and Care Facility

Housing for older people in Flanders evolves toward small-scale, homelike environments. As population ageing puts pressure on the affordability of this tendency, architects are challenged to design innovative living schemes that offer the advantages of smale-scaleness in an affordable way. Little is known, however, about how people use and experience these schemes. Therefore we analyse how a recently built innovative housing and care facility is experienced by its residents. Analysis of interviews and guided tours suggests that the contemporary architecture is not criticised, but that its materialisation should offer a more homelike atmosphere. The generic layout is experienced as highly confusing and should offer more differentiation. The study confirms the importance of furnishing a place in making it “your own”, and shows how architects can facilitate this. While the design incorporates qualities of small-scale, homelike living schemes for people with dementia, the facility lacks some of the underlying ideals. It is therefore unclear whether the intended benefits for people with dementia are still present in this specific set-up. Together the findings illustrate the importance of follow-up studies since architects might take such an innovative concept as an example without knowing its actual benefits and deficiencies. They also highlight the added value of qualitative case studies for such unique housing and care projects.