Designers hold immense power to create spaces that make all people feel seen and welcome. More than a third of the American population is considered very plus-size. So why don’t our offices, restaurants, retail, or public spaces reflect this through size-inclusive design and furniture selection? What does it look like to design an equitable world with a literal seat at the table for everyone? How do we advocate for size inclusion with our project clients and peer designers?
Please join AIA Oregon's Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (CoEDI) for a discussion on size-inclusive design best practices, led by team members from AllGo, a startup focused on plus-size accessibility issues.
Join us to learn how to design spaces welcoming to customers, clients, residents, and employees of all sizes.
Cost: Free!
This is a BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) event! Drinks and snacks provided.
Continuing Education: CEUs Pending
Learning Objectives:
After attending this program, participants will be able to:
Describe the cultural shift of changing demographic needs, size-inclusion, and body neutrality and its importance in the larger picture of inclusive, accessible architectural design.
Identify size-inclusive design best practices for application in project furniture selection, spatial configuration, and overall programming of space.
Assess potential overlaps and conflicts between size-inclusive design best practices and ADA accessible design requirements.
Compare and align size-inclusive design best practices with health and wellness building certifications such as Fitwel and WELL Building.
Meet the Presenters:
Rebecca Alexander is the Founder & CEO of AllGo. Over the last two years, she has surveyed more than 20,000 plus-size people on their experiences of public spaces, apparel, automobiles and more. As a frequent presenter on the topic of size inclusive design, Rebecca has spoken at numerous corporate events, at Design Week Portland and Design Museum. Rebecca’s leadership on this issue has been covered by The New York Times, FastCompany, Dow Jones, Newsweek and more.
Hannah Silver is a designer and urban planner with a background in sustainable architecture. Her work is focused on creating equitable experiences for people of all abilities in the built environment. An educator at heart, Hannah brings thoughtful, informative guidance to client teams and has taught socially just design to everyone from high schoolers to practicing design professionals. Her sustainable design accreditations include WELL AP, LEED AP Homes, Fitwel Ambassador, and EcoDistricts AP.