Changing Perspectives: Inclusive Architecture Is Not Just For The Minority

by Teo Jingmei

Photo: Lekker Architects, Khoo Guo Jie

When Lekker Architects was engaged to design Kindle Garden — an inclusive kindergarten that would also take in students with special needs — the design team realised how myopic their perception of inclusive design was.

“(We had the) idea that inclusive design was simply about adjusting a space so that everyone could use it — the concept of ‘make a bigger table so everyone can join in’,” says Josh Comaroff, who heads the firm together with his wife and architect Ong Ker-Shing. Both are also architectural educators in local universities.

The staff at AWWA (Asian Women Welfare Association), who runs Kindle Garden, quickly highlighted to him that, in fact, many special needs conflict with each other. “A ‘hypersensitive’ person with autism needs a very calming environment; a tiny amount of stimulus has a very big effect on them,” Comaroff elaborates.

A bookshelf and hideout space at Kindle Garden. (Photo: Lekker Architects, Darren Soh)

“On the other hand, a hypersensitive person who is also ‘on the spectrum’ needs a lot of visual and auditory input; ideally, their environments are vibrant, buzzy and full of life. Kids (with these divergent needs) might occupy the same classroom and have peers with auditory or visual impairments.”

This situation reflects the condition of our larger world, which is filled with people who manoeuvre their surroundings differently compared to most able-bodied and neurotypical persons. Given that the advancement in modern medicine means people live longer — even those with disabilities — the discourse is necessary, notes the Human Rights Careers website.

FI&LD exhibition by Lekker Architects at La Salle College of Fine Arts. (Photo: Lekker Architects, Don Wong)

Universal Design (UD) codes mandated in most countries aim to create spaces that are accessible to all, factoring in age, ability, gender, and culture. But inclusive architecture and design go beyond simply making wider pathways for wheelchairs to incorporate areas of neurodiversity, invisible disabilities, and wellness issues like anxiety, Comaroff adds.

The outdoor terrace at Enabling Village. (Photo: WOHA, Edward Hendricks)

For Phua Hong Wei, Enabling Village and Kampong Admiralty have been vital in testing inclusivity ideas. “Both are community-centric developments emphasising inclusivity, liveability and sustainability — prototypes that showcase a built environment that is more enjoyable and desirable by establishing a common ground for the common good,” says the director at architecture firm WOHA.

Enabling Village adapts the 1970s-built Bukit Merah Vocational Institute into Singapore’s first inclusive community space. “An inclusive preschool, a community gym with specialised equipment, and an assistive technology centre were also piloted here,” says Phua, highlighting that many solutions in these projects acknowledge the complexity of inclusivity dealing with a broad spectrum, such as a coloured textured band doubling as guidance for the visually impaired and an apparent visual wayfinding cue.

Individual enclosed seats at Enabling Village. (Photo: WOHA, Patrick Birmingham)

“In doing so, the outcome can be generous and flexible, allowing people with different needs to share and coexist,” he adds. The learning process is ongoing — SG Enable (Singapore’s primary agency for disability and inclusion) and Phua’s team are refreshing the wayfinding master plan of Enabling Village and a new extension block, with research uncovered through place-making surveys and design-thinking workshops.

In Hong Kong, One Bite Design Studio extends the inclusive umbrella to include the marginalised or displaced. Projects include the Hysan Rooftop Series, which transforms forgotten rooftops into community hubs.

Alan Cheung, who founded the firm with Sarah Mui in 2015, observes that the increasing awareness of inclusive architecture parallels the importance placed on diversity and equity.

The Hyasan Rooftop Series from a bird’s-eye view in Hong Kong turning rooftops into community spaces. (Photo: One Bite)

For stakeholders to be engaged, widespread information is necessary. “By generating noise, we can affect bottom-up and top-down efforts to influence how our built environment is made. Hoping to share our lessons with others in the industry and the general public to raise awareness on various facets of inclusive design, One Bite has turned many of our research efforts into publicly accessible best-practice guides,” says Cheung.

Still, making inclusive architecture and design mainstream will take time. Clients might now ask for related amenities such as sensory rooms or specialised education but flinch at paying for them. “This may be less of a challenge for inclusive design in particular, and more a structural problem with how people view creative labour more broadly,” Comaroff analyses.

The Quiet Room at the National Gallery of Singapore. (Photo: Lekker Architects, Khoo Guo Jie)

He elaborates, “There is a dangerous myth that design is a form of magic and that making a project inclusive is simply about tweaking colours or materials and is thus a kind of additional value that can be had without additional cost.” Well-designed inclusive spaces require a research phase, post-interviews for user feedback and consultation with the disabled. This might mean longer project timelines.

Clients and stakeholders then have to think further and more profoundly. Inclusive design is not a charitable project aimed only at a small, marginalised community. He mentions the Microsoft Inclusion Guidelines, which posits forms of “disability” from injury or otherwise, temporary or permanent, happen to all of us.

Stresses Ong, “Inclusive design is a kind of kindness and insurance to make a world that treats us better, whether our needs are acute or not. It’s a project for imagining a world that fits more of us better.”

This story was originally published on The Peak Singapore.