Inclusivity in Public Space: Architecture and the Disabled Body
Abstract
People with disabilities are living in a world that simply was
not built for them and it creates a lot of unnecessary struggle
and bias because of that. Public spaces are especially
discriminatory towards the disabled body, and yet the public
world as it exists today is also more and more discriminatory
towards every single one of our bodies because of reductive
design strategies that place more emphasis on evolving
technology such as cars over our bodily experience of design
and space. The only way we can interact with the world is
through our bodies. Our bodies move us through space and
create meaningful interactions and moments with one another
and the world around us.
For these reasons, this project explores how our ability to
engage with public space is entirely dependent on our bodily
imagination, and how the experiences we have depend on
the engagement of the body and space, the uniqueness of
our bodies, and various scales of interaction. To explore
these levels of involvement, I propose the design of a library
situated in an area known for activism related to ableism. The
various scales of the design explore inclusivity as a means of
connection and meaningful exchange that allows for active
participation within public spaces, in the space of reading,
and in a “human library” wherein people can engage with one
another’s stories.