BSA News

Jul 21, 2021

BSA Staff Picks: Disability Pride Month

Disability staff picks

Disability Pride Flag design by Ann Magill

It's been more than 30 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act codified accessibility guidelines for buildings in federal law, but architecture still has a way to go when it comes to ensuring equal access. As Disability Pride Month draws to a close, BSA staff share their picks for resources, articles & more that celebrate the work of disabled architects & activists and examine how architecture can fulfill its obligation to accessible, equitable design.

To submit a resource or share an experience related to Disabled history, culture, and/or architecture, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Books & Articles

AIA National: Celebrating architects who overcame disabilities

The stories of four diversely-abled architects who have changed the profession.

Active Exclusion: Disability rights and accessibility on Roosevelt Island

The history of Roosevelt Island, named for a disabled president who used a wheelchair, offers lessons at once troubling and hopeful.

Blocked Parking Spots, Broken Sidewalks, and Boulders: How Common Spaces Fail People With Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed to ensure that we all had access to public spaces, but the implementation has not always lived up to the law.

Architect Chris Downey goes blind, says he's actually gotten better at his job

A social worker tried to tell him about "career alternatives" after he lost his sight, but Chris Downey wasn't about to stop being an architect.

Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability

Building Access investigates twentieth-century strategies for designing the world with disability in mind.

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the 21st Century

Activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers.

Making Disability Modern

Making Disability Modern: Design Histories brings together leading scholars to examine how designed objects and spaces contribute to the meanings of ability and disability.

Multi-Media

Disability Visibility

Disability Visibility is a podcast hosted by San Francisco night owl Alice Wong featuring conversations on politics, culture, and media with disabled people.

Resources, Organizations, and More

BSA's Access Committee

Buildings should be accessible to every human being. The Access Committee advocates for equity and socially sustainable, universal design.

Critical Design Lab

Critical Design Lab is a multi-disciplinary arts and design collaborative centered in disability culture.

Crutches and Spice

Imani Barbarin writes from the perspective of a black woman with Cerebral Palsy. She specializes in blogging, science fiction and memoir.

Global Disability Innovation Hub

GDI Hub is a research and practice centre driving disability innovation for a fairer world.

TouchSee

TouchSee is designed to make life easier for the visually impaired. Type text and it will be converted into braille and appear on a label. You may then download it as a 3D model.

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