Academic curriculum developers are exploring how to embed universal design standards into the programs and guiding principles of 12 Canadian architecture schools. University of Waterloo has initiated the effort with support from newly announced grants from the Ontario government’s EnAbling Change Program.
The project proponents will take a two-pronged approach, examining both course content and the schools’ own educational spaces. The latter will serve as a living lab for mitigating and removing barriers and applying innovative approaches to design, with the lessons learned then cycled back into students’ training.
Looking to the broader post-secondary sector, University of Waterloo has also received funding to develop a guiding framework for the design and development of new buildings and/or assessment and retrofit of existing campus facilities. It’s intended to broaden general understanding of how design decisions affect people with disabilities and to promote possibilities for inclusive spaces.
“We are very pleased to be receiving these EnAbling Change grants to ensure accessibility is incorporated as a standard in architectural curriculum,” says James Rush, University of Waterloo’s vice president, academic, and provost.
“It is a significant step on our path to be more inclusive while ensuring that accessibility and sustainability are at the forefront in spatial design,” concurs Marilyn Thompson, associate provost and Waterloo’s lead on accessibility.
Together the two grants total nearly $225,000 and are part of an announcement of 14 new projects, collectively receiving about $1.3 million in funding, aimed at building awareness and improving accessibility. The EnAbling Change program supports shared-cost endeavours led by not-for-profit corporations, industry organizations or professional associations.
This year, the Ontario government had three priority objectives in its choice of grant recipients:
- projects aligned with the economic bounce-back from COVID-19;
- projects focused on online support for people with disabilities, seniors and/or marginalized communities; and
- development of best practices that can be scaled up for broader use throughout the province or country.
Also of interest to the commercial real estate sector, the Retail Council of Canada has been awarded $120,000 to develop a webinar series and guidebook, which will provide information on preventing and removing barriers for both customers and employees within retail venues. This will also focus on mental health and accessible online services.
