Design for Disabled Joy

Many people with disabilities, comprising at least 26% of the population, face significant barriers in the built environment that limit their access to spaces. For someone using a rolling mobility device, encountering one step in the doorway of a beautiful flower shop may mean they simply do not get to visit the store like everyone else.

The ADA Standards for Accessible Design is a federal document that sets the minimum requirements for making buildings and other shared spaces inclusive of disabled people. However, many people’s needs fall outside the ADA’s requirements, and older buildings often have not been updated to meet them.

A group of Holst staff members visited Holst's One North and the surrounding neighborhood to find accessible spaces, or where accessibility features are lacking.

ADA+

In 2020, Inclusive Design Facilitator, Hannah Silver, began a research and engagement project called Design for Disabled Joy. The goal was to learn directly from diversely disabled people about how architects and others who design buildings can go “above and beyond the ADA” to meet people’s access needs. Most importantly, we asked people how designers can support disabled joy.

Virtual Training

In 2023, Hannah and Holst designer Monse Fonseca turned 8 Ways to Design for Disabled Joy into an on-demand, free training, available below. The video includes closed captions and ASL interpretation. A transcript and slide descriptions can be found here.

“Design for Disabled Joy” is written on top of an image of three Black and disabled folx laughing uproariously while strolling down a sidewalk on a windy day.

Course cover featuring image from 'Disabled and Here'

Design for Intersectional Needs

We asked people where they loved to go and where they wished they could go to have an enjoyable time in their everyday lives. Through over 500 survey responses and interviews since then, we uncovered lots of great design ideas and areas for improvement. We distilled our findings into “8 Ways to Design for Disabled Joy.” When we design to meet disabled peoples’ needs, we also benefit people pushing strollers, kids, short people, tall people, plus size folks, and many others! But it is also important to remember that sometimes peoples’ needs can be very specific to themselves, and that is still worthy of designers’ attention. People with very specific needs in space have the most to gain from newfound accessibility.

Sliding doors and ramps don't just help people using mobility devices; they also allow sign language speakers to converse without interruption.

This crosswalk button talks and vibrates to let people with different access needs know when it is safe to cross the street.

Equal Entry

Holst’s Oregon State University PRAx project prioritizes equal experience through the building by pairing the core stairway and elevator to ensure that all visitors navigate the building in the same pattern. The elevator is double-sided, allowing wheelchairs to move through without rotating.

Two people sit facing each other on a curved bench, communicating in ASL.

Clear Communication

Deaf-friendly curved seating at One North allows for those who communicate with sign language to have clear visibility of other speakers.

Accessible Common Spaces

The community room at Francis + Clare Place features many inclusive details, including a variety of flexible seating options, a wheelchair user-friendly roll-under sink, and accessible cabinet pulls.