Salem, MA – Jones Architecture announced that Sarah Tarbet, senior associate at the firm, will lead a presentation detailing how to create inclusive spaces through architecture at the upcoming SCUP regional conference in Boston on March 26.
“Traditional design processes have resulted in the exclusion of a diverse group of people,” said Tarbet. “Engaging with users throughout the design process and advocating for creating a sense belonging results in spaces that better serve the people who use them.”
Inclusive design focuses on creating equitable space that supports well-being for a diverse campus community. Attendees will learn from case studies with lessons that can be applied to their own campus projects.
Joining Tarbet is Jenny Burton, senior project manager at DCAMM, and Jennifer Holbrook, staff associate to the VP for Administration/CFO Office of Administration and Finance, Massasoit Community College. The team will present a framework for inclusive design practices that challenge conventional approaches to user engagement while identifying and dismantling exclusionary processes.
“Accessibility and universal design are great baselines, but we have to move past code to succeed. Engagement is key to making that happen and we’re so excited to share some of our insight on how to do that without adding a lot of time and expense to the project,” said Tarbet.
These insights will include:
- Advocating for student belonging and well-being as design criteria for campus spaces.
- How to apply user-specific engagement strategies to create inclusive design processes.
- Ways to establish shared understanding and prioritize metrics for analysis of qualitative information.
- How to integrate end user input into campus space design outcomes to assess a sense of belonging and well-being.
