DisOrdinary Dialogues

What does it mean to think about non visual beauty?Kicking off our pilot series, this conversation see hosts Mandy and Tom explore ideas of beauty with five key guests: Alison Jones ​​​(Visually Impaired Visual Artist), Richard Warren (British Library Buildings and Projects Manager), Poppy Levison​​ (Blind Architectural Designer and Researcher), Jose Cadilhe (Technical design lead at Heatherwick Studio) and Emma Tutton (Access and Outreach Programme Manager at the British Library).As with each episode, this conversation builds on from our recent ‘Many More Parts than M!’ Compendium (launched in early 2024) and explories how we can engage with built environment accessibility in ways that take us beyond conventional checklists and design guidance. Find out more about the compendium here.Episode Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:15 Conversation with Alison Jones10:05 Conversation with Richard Warren14:52 Exploration around the British Library16:04 Conversations with Poppy Levison and Jose Cadilhe31:11 Conversations with Emma Tutton33:30 Closing thoughtsTranscript for the conversation here.This episode was recorded and produced by Mandy Redvers-Rowe (Blind Theatre Producer) and Tom Walker (Partially Sighted Sound Engineer) for The DisOrdinary Architecture Project. Find out more about The DisOrdinary Architecture Project here. ‘

What is the value of imperfect design?In this conversation, hosts Mandy and Tom explore concepts of the ‘imperfect’ and imperfect design beauty with three key guests: Jos Boys (DisOrdinary Architecture Co-Director), Grace Choi (Grace Choi Architecture Architect Director) and Nikki Dravers (REfUSE Café Food Partnership Co-ordinator), and contributions from staff and volunteers at the REfUSE Café in Chester Le Street.  As with each episode, this conversation builds on from our recent ‘Many More Parts than M!’ Compendium (launched in early 2024) and explories how we can engage with built environment accessibility in ways that take us beyond conventional checklists and design guidance.Episode Timestamps00:00 Soundbite0:28 Introduction1:15 Jos Boys on the Imperfect Design Principle14:38 Exploration of REfUSE CiC and those involved22:25 Are we in an Inclusion Emergency?32:35 Closing thoughtsTranscript for the conversation here.This episode was recorded and produced by Mandy Redvers-Rowe (Blind Theatre Producer) and Tom Walker (Partially Sighted Sound Engineer) for The DisOrdinary Architecture Project.Find out more about The DisOrdinary Architecture Project here. ‘The first compendium mentioned was ‘Many More Parts than M!’ from DisOrdinary Architecture. You can access the compendium here.The second book mentioned was Inclusion Emergency: Diversity in Architecture. Written by Grace choi and Hannah Durham. You can access the book here.

What is shared space? And can it work for everyone?In this conversation hosts Mandy and Tom explore ideas of (Un)Shared Spaces with five key guests: Zoe Partington (Co-Director, The DisOrdinary Architecture Project and CEO, DaDa), Denise Kennedy, (Access Co-ordinator, DaDa), Andrew de Silva (Director and Architect, David Miller Architects), Chithra Marsh (Director, Buttress), Kimberley Corrall (Associate, Buttress) and architectural students Thomas Lockley and Abbey Brady-Hoyle. As with each episode, this conversation builds on from our recent ‘Many More Parts than M!’ Compendium (launched in early 2024) and explories how we can engage with built environment accessibility in ways that take us beyond conventional checklists and design guidance. Find out more about the compendium here.Episode Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:12 Understanding ‘shared spaces’ with Zoe Partington07:36 Explorations of RIBA North and shared spaces in the design process20:26 Inclusion of ‘accessible design’ in architecture studies29:01 Explorations of RIBA North and shared spaces in the design process30:56 Closing thoughtsTranscript for the conversation here.This episode was recorded and produced by Mandy Redvers-Rowe (Blind Theatre Producer) and Tom Walker (Partially Sighted Sound Engineer) for The DisOrdinary Architecture Project.Find out more about The DisOrdinary Architecture Project here.