RCA - Inclusive Design March 9, 2006

Thursday 9th March, 6.30pm Inclusive Design

Design for the disabled, with its medical model, has been redefined to encompass a much broader range of impairments under the heading of inclusive design. What are designers doing currently to create environments and products that are accessible to people right across society? Being concerned with solutions to complex problems, designers need to focus on integrated living and apply a questioning, holistic approach to social/psychological issues more widely, to avoid the ?exclusion? through design of specific groups of people and help combat their isolation. In the past altruism was the main justification for making things accessible to all. Now, social, legal and economic changes are driving policy, but adopting a new mindset about participative solutions to society?s complexity is equally important. There is a real need for the design industry to address these issues.

Speakers:
Professor Roger Coleman, Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art
Torsten Neeland, industrial and interior designer, London
Reinder Bakker, industrial designer, Amsterdam
Jan-jaap Rietjens, industrial designer, Splinter Industrial Design, Eindhoven
Rogério Lira, graphic and interaction designer, Airplant, Amsterdam

http://www.rca.ac.uk/pages/news/shared_territories_lecture_series_3165.html

Shared Territories: Anglo-Dutch Debate Series

The School of Architecture + Design at the Royal College of Art is hosting a series of Anglo-Dutch evening debates in the spring of 2006 called Shared Territories on contemporary issues in design and architecture. Free of charge, these evenings give the public and students an opportunity to hear a distinguished selection of Dutch and UK based or connected practitioners discuss critical themes relevant to contemporary design and architecture. These include the challenges their disciplines are facing internationally, not just at home or in Europe. Individual events will tackle urban design strategies and procurement processes; the qualities of ?glocal? product design; pinpoint new directions in ?inclusive? design, and explore what happens when you put design, people, technology together and envision the future. The debates will be chaired by Lucy Bullivant, curator, critic and author.

The Shared Territories design series is supported by the Mondriaan Foundation, the Netherlands Architecture Fund and the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

In addition to the series, lectures and workshops involving Dutch practitioners will be staged at the Royal College of Art in 2006. Details to be announced.

Tel: 020 7590 4322/4274
Debate venue: Lecture Theatre 1, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7.
Please use Jay Mews Entrance