Office Matters: Agency, not Independence - a new language for inclusive design

<p>In the latest episode of the BCO&#39;s Office Matters podcast host Samantha McClary sits down with Suzan Ucmaklioglu, architect and inclusive design specialist at Foster + Partners, for a candid conversation about what it really means to design inclusively.</p><p>Ucmaklioglu explains the philosophy of &quot;with, not for&quot; - designing alongside the people who will use a space, not assuming their needs. She shares striking findings from Foster + Partners&#39; Spaces for Inclusion research, developed with Disordinary Architecture, including how something as simple as a missing bench can drain a person&#39;s energy before they even reach a meeting.</p><p>This powerful conversation covers everything from architecture education&#39;s blind spots, the power of language, and Suzan&#39;s own personal journey growing up with a wheelchair-using father.</p><p>It&#39;s a warm, honest, and genuinely eye-opening listen. And one that comes with a little important homework for every listener.</p><p><strong>Listen in to:</strong></p><ol><li><strong>Rethink what &quot;accessible&quot; actually means.</strong> Compliance is a starting point, not the finish line. A building can tick every code box and still fail real users. Find out why treating accessibility as a design driver, not a checklist, produces better buildings for everyone.</li><li><strong>Discover how small interventions have outsized impact.</strong> Research across four completed Foster + Partners buildings found that entrances, toilets, and communal &quot;urban rooms&quot; are where inclusive design succeeds or fails most and that something as simple as adding rest spaces changes how welcome people feel in a scheme.</li><li><strong>Find out why the whole delivery chain needs to be involved.</strong> From developers and investors to fit-out teams and leasing agents, everyone shaping a building&#39;s design and operation influences who can actually use it. It’s time to make inclusive design a shared responsibility across the entire real estate value chain.</li></ol><p>You can find out more about the Space for Inclusion project by watching this film:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV8LIlcgOpg</p><p></p>