Universal design, and... Visiting professor at the Royal Academy Jos Boys examines the concept of universal design

Based on a visiting professorship at the Royal Academy from 2022 to 2025, the architect, activist and journalist Jos Boys investigates different ways of rethinking the concept of Universal Design.

That's what she does in the podcast series Versatile Design, en...in which, in three episodes, she explores existing collaborations and projects at the Royal Academy and shares what we've learned about engaging more creatively on issues of disability, access and inclusion.

The talks address key themes that have emerged during the course of the visiting professorship.

Read more about the individual episodes below.

1. ‍Universal Design and... rethinking disability
   In this first episode in the 3 episode series Universal Design and… your host Jos Boys and her guests will expand, stretch and challenge the concept of Universal Design. They will shed light on how stereotypes of disability (and ability) limit ways of designing for diverse bodies and minds.
   
   It takes concepts such as fitting and not fitting and starting with diversity as methods of appreciating the richness of human bio- and neurodiversity.
   
   Guests: Camilla Ryhl, Research Director, Bevica Foundation, Beata Hemer, architect, lecturer and PhD student at the Royal Academy, Helen Stratford, artist and architect
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2. ‍ Universal Design and... making better buildings and places
   In this second episode of Universal Design and… we get into the practical methods of how we can design more inclusively and how non-disabled people can develop their understanding of non-conventional bodies and minds as a positive factor rather than as an assumed problem for design processes.
   
   Guests: Marcus Aminaka Wilmont, fashion designer and lecturer, The Royal Danish Academy, OlgaPopovic Larsen, architect and lecturer, The Royal Academy, Roberta Cassi, architect and researcher, The Royal Academy, Adam Linden Nielsen, research and teaching assistant, The Royal Academy, Masashi Kajita, research manager, architect and lecturer, The Royal Academy.
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3. ‍Universal Design and... disabled creativity
   The last episode in the series of Universal Design and…focuses on the knowledge gained by negotiating inaccessible designs that disabled people have. We also talk about the importance om enabling disabled people to become designers in their own right, as well as being involved in design and educational processes.
   
   Guests: Else Skjold, researcher, designer and lecturer, Masashi Kajita research lead architect lecturer, Royal Academy, Peter Græsbøll Holm research associate anddisability activist, Disability Knowledge Centre, Poppy Leviso, architecture student.

You can find the individual podcast sections on the links in the header of the descriptions above, or where you usually listen to your podcasts. If you prefer, they are also collected here: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/universal-design-and--4362101

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