The issue with inclusivity: the promotion of inclusive design within architectural education

How can inclusive design be taught within schools of architecture to facilitate a better understanding of issues of equality and diversity within architecture? The Equalities Act came into force within the UK in 2010 and is designed to legally protect people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. There are 9 protected characteristics identified within the act which are: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion/ belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity. This paper investigates inequalities in relation to these characteristics and how they manifest themselves within our built environment, education and the practice of architecture. I argue that the current lack of equality and diversity within both the architectural profession and architectural education highlights the need to be more inclusive in our design teaching and our teaching methods in order to remain relevant in today’s society. This paper describes an Action Research Project which was undertaken as a result of identifying that many students are not being challenged to design inclusively within the studio environment especially when considering the diverse needs of the end user. It also discusses the traditional teaching methods used within architecture and hypothesizes that these are not always supporting diverse learning methods which take into account the varying needs of the student cohort. Through a mixed methods approach, this study explored the attitudes and experiences of architecture students at both undergraduate and post graduate level from one School of Architecture. Participants took part in a questionnaire, interactive on line discussion board, participatory workshop and focus group where they explored issues around inclusivity, equality and diversity. The findings demonstrate there is a desire to engage in issues of inclusive design, diversity and equality within the wider architectural curriculum and suggests a variety of strategies to support a greater engagement with inclusive design and the development of more inclusive teaching methods. KEYWORDS: Architecture; Inclusive Design; Equality; Diversit