Increasingly, the built environment industry is aspiring to create places with a sense of belonging for diverse occupants, responding to specific religious, cultural and social needs as far ranging as neurodiversity through to impaired mobility. Yet, whether a design is made genuinely inclusive is still largely driven by architects\u2019 and their clients\u2019 values. Does Australia\u2019s building code need clear standards for the design of inclusive environments, alongside those for fire safety, structural integrity, accessibility and environmental performance?<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s building code is a powerful document. It doesn\u2019t just regulate construction \u2013 it defines what we consider essential. Safety, health, amenity and accessibility are treated as non\u2011negotiable. Belonging, however, is treated as optional.<\/p>\n
Right now, whether a building supports neurodivergent users, accommodates cultural or religious practices, or recognises bodies and identities beyond a narrow norm is largely left to the values of architects and their clients. That means inclusion is uneven, fragile and too-often absent. Good intentions are doing the work that policy refuses to do.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think belonging should sit outside regulation. If the built environment actively shapes who feels welcome, who feels surveilled and who feels excluded, then inclusive design is not just a social issue \u2013 it\u2019s a public one. Public responsibilities require standards.<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t mean the building code should attempt to codify culture or prescribe identity; but it can set clear minimum expectations: requirements for sensory modulation and retreat in public buildings; spatial flexibility that allows for different cultural and social uses; dignified facilities for diverse bodies; and, critically, mandated engagement with affected communities as part of the design process. These are just some of the options that can be put into place.<\/p>\n
Some needs will always require architectural judgement and contextual research \u2013 and that\u2019s as it should be; but when belonging relies solely on discretion, it becomes a privilege rather than a right \u2013 and hence an option.<\/p>\n
If we believe safety and accessibility are worth regulating, then the conditions that allow people to feel they belong should be regulated too. The question isn\u2019t whether we can codify inclusive design \u2013 it\u2019s why we\u2019ve been willing not to.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Pragya Gupta is a senior associate at Gray Puksand and a registered architect with Asia-Pacific experience across commercial, education, hospitality, senior living and infrastructure projects. She advocates for equity and inclusion, leading Gray Puksand\u2019s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group, and founding Wine and Shine and Multicultural Association of Property Professionals Inc. to support women and multicultural professionals across the built sector.<\/p>\n
This article is one of four responses to the same question: \u201cOur building code ensures occupants\u2019 safety, amenity, health and accessibility \u2013 what about their sense of belonging?\u201d Read Justine Clark\u2019s response to the same question here<\/a>, Allen Kong\u2019s here<\/a>. Stay tuned for a response from Angelo Candalepas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Increasingly, the built environment industry is aspiring to create places with a sense of belonging for diverse occupants,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-571324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}