Some Thoughts on Accessibility...

“I grew up with an older brother who has cerebral palsy. From a young age, I saw another take on the world, second handedly experiencing the disregard from abled people to those who do not confine themselves to the 'norm'. You might think that there are benefits, such as being able to ride around in a wheelchair and getting someone to push you, skipping lines at tourist attractions or taking the elevator, but let me tell you the reality of 'accessibility' is not always accessible. It hurts when you are unable to participate in so many activities because you were not thought of. It is not fun to listen to the muffled voices and awkward conversations when someone asks 'what is wrong with you?' or 'what happened to you?' Growing up, I was so naive because my brother had masked all of these things so well.

Last summer, my perspective of this world changed again, but this time I was in the driver’s seat. I suffered a Lisfranc injury among countless other fractures and breaks in my foot. I was injured as a student intern at an architecture practice based in Toronto. I worked out of the sight of the others, in the clustered scaffolding shelves with material swatches and other archives. Completely disregarded as fresh meat, this inexperienced Chinese boy coming to work at an award-winning practice was paid no attention. I was just another passer-by, easily forgettable and easy to take advantage of. Our communication ever since my injury has been dead.

My recovery was longer than the average. Although it could not compare to living permanently with a mobility disability, I was able to see all the little things I took for granted. From daily activities such as waking up and walking to the bathroom, walking down a flight of stairs, showering, cooking, and even sleeping, you struggle so much trying to accomplish these seemingly simple tasks.

You exert so much energy into everything you do and are constantly tired. Not to mention the change in perspective [of] those around me, thinking that I have it too easy because I am getting help from others and not seeing how helpless I was feeling at the time. Right as the Fall academic term was to begin, I was told to seriously con-

sider deferring and taking the year off. I was told I would not be able to keep up with the rigour of architecture school. The only thing I found myself unable to keep up with was the inaccessibility of the school. I was faced with the fear of not being able to walk through any doors without them closing in behind or on me as I made my way through them on crutches. I was faced with the fear of keeping others behind and did not go on field trips because [they] could not really accommodate me. I was faced with the fear of the sound the elevator made and the immediate shift in the gaze of an upper year’s entire class and their professor. I was scared of the scoffs, the pitiful eyes, and the unwillingness to help or accommodate because I was considered 'lesser' than them.

But what I feared the most was the help of those closest to me. I felt as though I was a burden to them and slowing them down. Near the end of the term, there was an effort to implement automatic door buttons to many main doors to the building. This is great, but the placement matters. Out of reach accessibility is not accessibility. Clicking a button and having to take 5 seconds walking or going to the far door that opened, only to have it close on you is not a solution.

In conversations with some students, I was told that when they had an applicant with a physical disability, they were, from the start, not considered, due to the physical demands of the program and the overall inaccessibility of the school. We were taught in first year that designing for accessibility is a pain in the ass. It is something that we do not need to consider because we were not tasked to do so. Our efforts to accommodate people with physical disabilities were usually questioned and we were convinced to erase it from the design.

Why are we running away from the uncomfortable and why can’t we see this as an opportunity for design? Let us change our canon of projects that use ramps as a cool design strategy. Let us look at those who live it and understand the nuance behind a ramp rather than those who blindly obey statistical facts or requirements.”