Accessibility: Beyond Regulatory Compliance

MIXdesign pursues an expansive approach to accessibility that differs from prevailing approaches in three ways.

1. First, rather than focus on people with disabilities alone, we consider the needs of a broader spectrum of the population. Our intersectional approach is based on the conviction that human experience and embodied identities are constituted by a variety of interconnected factors including age, gender, race, culture, religion, and disability.

2. Second, MIX offers an alternative to the “separate but equal” model that prescribes physical accommodations like ADA ramps and entrances which unintentionally segregate and stigmatize those with “special needs.” Instead, MIX develops design recommendations for sharing that allow the maximum number of differently embodied and identified people—individuals, friends, families and caregivers—to MIX in the public spaces that shape our daily lives. We recognize that there are ways of being different that don’t allow for one-size-fits-all solutions: some people and communities have unique needs that require unique solutions.

3. Third, most accessibility approaches, like the ADA, focus on regulatory compliance, “functional” solutions shaped by seemingly objective criteria that are transmitted through design standards and building codes. In contrast, MIX makes recommendations that can be adapted to meet site-specific needs, based on our belief that inclusive design must take into account that a person’s experience of the built environment is determined by both quantitative and qualitative factors that are shaped by complex cultural, social, economic and political forces.

Engagement
Inclusive Design depends on the active participation of stakeholders and end-users who contribute to our design process by providing valuable insights from their lived experience of the designed environment. MIX works with our clients to conduct a variety of engagement practices including surveys, interviews, workshops, focus groups and spatial tours that yield meaningful feedback we use to generate innovative design concepts that empower users. Participatory design informs our methodology and we also help clients to draft policies and end-user engagement practices that make inclusive design principles central to their internal project development process. 

Impact: Equity and Well-being
Our work is based on the twin pillars of social equity and public health. Equal access to public space is a civil right. Everyone is entitled to take advantage of civic buildings that house educational, government and cultural institutions that allow them to advance and lead rich and prosperous lives. Democratic societies build respect for human diversity by creating spaces that meet the needs of and foster interactions among a spectrum of non-compliant bodies. At the same time, evidence-based data shows that the designed environment has a direct and tangible impact on physical and mental health. For this reason, MIX draws from our team of cross-disciplinary experts who represent the humanities, law, medicine and public health to research and develop design proposals that impact social justice as well as physical and mental wellbeing.

Innovation
Looking at the world through the lens of non-compliant bodies can be a catalyst for creativity. Non-compliant bodies often engage with the built environment using unique sense perceptions and bring with them different customs and cultural values. MIX uses feedback from our engagement with a wide range of user communities to create multi-sensory public spaces that we hope can enhance the human experience for everyone.

PROCESS

1.0: Research and Analysis
MIX conducts literature reviews and participatory engagement practices (surveys, workshops, focus groups, on-site observation) to analyze the correlation between end users, activities and space. We investigate how end users perform different activities within the spaces the project program is designed to accommodate, taking into consideration health, comfort and well-being.

2.0: Synthesis
MIX uses this feedback to conduct a comparative analysis of overlapping end-user needs associated with each activity space which we then analyze to generate a matrix of shared design strategies that guide material and finish choices, wayfinding, lighting and the specification of furniture and fixtures. Our goal is to enable the maximum number of differently embodied and identified people to interact in different settings while also providing options for people with unique functional or privacy needs.

Integrated Design Process: Sustainability, Performance and Cost
MIX employs an integrated approach that considers the interrelationship between inclusive design and practical issues like durability, building performance and cost. We recommend economical, durable, and easy-to-clean furniture, fabrics and finishes.  Throughout the process, we coordinate with technical consultants to meet building system performance measures for air quality, acoustics and lighting to optimize lifestyle costs with human comfort for a wide variety of users. Our process aligns with and reinforces the IDP (Integrated Design Process) being adopted by leading institutions to meet sustainability goals.