Next Project

Reframing Accessibility

Part 1 Project 2023
Lola Wright
University of Cambridge | UK
Reframing Accessibility explores the transformative potential of a demountable timber system, in an effort to contest the ableist attitudes embedded in our mechanisms of urban design. The scheme draws upon the collective experiences and expertise of a group of artists living with complex neuro-diverse and physical support needs, with whom I collaborated in a series of participatory design workshops.

The prefabricated plug-and-play frame becomes a tool to disassemble a row of terraced houses in Basildon, collectivising spaces formerly devoted to productive or reproductive work and enabling neighbours to share facilities with an economy of means. The adjacent community centre, too, is retrofitted, where the low-cost, low-carbon, tectonic system provides a stage for local gathering and consultation, fostering an inclusive and supportive housing co-operative.

The scheme, then, challenges the status of the suburbs, whilst addressing the current social care crisis and asserting urban density as a prerequisite for tackling the climate emergency. Ultimately, the project reframes the conversation around accessibility, by examining how socially engaged artistic practices can critically engage in questions of spatial justice.

Lola Wright

Tutor(s)
Lola Lozano Lara
Elena Palacios Carral
Sam Nelson
2023
• Page Hits: 1766         • Entry Date: 25 September 2023         • Last Update: 20 October 2023