Accessible Architecture Essay Competition Jury Panel

Buildner is pleased to announce the jury for the upcoming Accessible Architecture Essay Competition Competition!

Jos Boys, The DisOrdinary Architecture Project

Chris Downey, Architecture for the Blind

Rosa Lorenzo Downey, Architecture for the Blind

Persis Lam, Diamond Schmitt Architects

Fotini Pitoglou, FORREC

Jos Boys is co-founder of UK-based The DisOrdinary Architecture Project, a platform bringing together disabled artists and built environment students, educators and practitioners for creative and positive actions and dialogue that can demonstrate how disability is a valuable and generative force in design, rather than a technical and legalistic ‘problem’. Jos is author of Doing Disability Differently: an alternative handbook on architecture, dis/ability, and designing for everyday life (Routledge 2014) and editor of Disability, Space, Architecture: A Reader (Routledge 2017).

Chris Downey of Architecture for the Blind has over 30 years of architectural experience continuing without sight since 2008. Through his lived experience with blindness, he adds unique value to projects for or relevant to the blind and low vision community by creating multi-sensory Inclusive Designs with a sense of delight whether seen or not.

Rosa Lorenzo Downey of Architecture for the Blind has honed her creative use of color theory and materiality on a broad spectrum of architectural and interior projects over the past three decades. She is actively engaged in furthering and supporting multiple design initiatives and goals inclusive of all people including universal design and multi-cultural awareness.

Persis Lam is an associate at Diamond Schmitt Architects, based in Toronto. She loves architecture for the constant strive for balance between art and science. Her drive for better design solutions to solve real problems stems from a technical design sense. Persis is also an executive member of Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEAT). She continues to champion collaboration across different professional industries, enjoys spending time with her two young children and plays in the office rock band.

Anonymous of No So Studio. Founded in 2016 on the notion that design is essential for all people. Berlin-based, No So Studio is an anonymous and celebrated design practice. “We want to connect with people who understand the value of design through our playful creative processes: fun, iterative and at times inappropriate.” Its Casa-mac project is home in Italy for a blind woman that orients the spaces around a singular corridor spine, to minimize potential maze effect and ensure efficient movement.

Fotini Pitoglou is a licensed architect in Ontario, Canada, the UK and Greece. She is a lead architect on hospitality projects at Toronto-based FORREC. She holds master's degrees from the University of Waterloo and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where she conducted extensive research on tourism, and community building. Fotini is an executive member of BEAT - Building Equality in Architecture Toronto, the former chair of RAIC Emerging Practitioners Committee, and a member of FORREC's Diversity Equality and Inclusion Task Force.

Buildner, in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS, are calling for essay submissions for their next print publication “What is Accessible Architecture?”. Submissions from participants related to any field or discipline are welcome. Selected winners will receive monetary awards and will be included in the ARCHHIVE BOOKS' “What is Accessible Architecture?” print publication.