{"id":23115,"date":"2025-07-20T05:34:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T05:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/23115\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T05:34:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T05:34:23","slug":"uk-interior-design-studio-prepares-future-designers-to-build-a-more-accessible-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/23115\/","title":{"rendered":"UK interior design studio prepares future designers to build a more accessible world"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEXINGTON, Ky.\u00a0(July\u00a018, 2025) \u2014\u00a0Interior design decisions, whether intentional or not, impact how people move through the world and can either support or limit access, dignity and belonging. Yet the profession is often misunderstood as surface-level decoration. The In:Access studio in the University of Kentucky College of Design<\/a> pushes back against that notion, preparing students to become thoughtful, socially responsible designers.<\/p>\n

Led by UK School of Interiors<\/a> Assistant Professor Jennifer Meakins, the In:Access vertical studio brought together second- and third-year students to explore the intersection of design and accessibility in interior spaces. The course was built on the idea that interior design always sends a message; it can either include or exclude people. Instead of ignoring that reality, the studio\u00a0challenged\u00a0students to\u00a0examine\u00a0how\u00a0the built environment can reflect social patterns and shape human experience and\u00a0how designers have the power to help change them. Students looked at accessibility not just in terms of laws or building codes, but as a broader issue connected to people\u2019s everyday experiences. They explored how\u00a0individual experiences and circumstances can affect how people move through and interact with space \u2014 factors such as ability and identity.\u00a0The class studied both obvious and subtle design elements like doors, lighting, materials and layout and how these things can either help or create barriers for different people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese studios are just as much a learning experience for me as they are for the students. Collaborations \u2014 like the one with David and the Disability Resource Center \u2014\u00a0bring in perspectives we might never fully grasp on our own,\u201d Meakins said. \u201cThey remind us that we\u2019re not designing for others or just expressing our own ideas \u2014\u00a0we\u2019re designing with others. That shift is so important. It helps students understand that design is a shared process, rooted in listening, empathy and care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The idea for this new studio began in the Fall 2024 semester when Meakins approached the UK Disability Resource Center (DRC)<\/a> and the university\u2019s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Office about collaborating on a studio that emphasized universal design strategies that benefit all users and encouraged students to think beyond code compliance when designing accessible environments. This collaboration provided students with insight to accessibility on UK\u2019s campus as well as expert feedback throughout the semester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Early in the Spring 2025 semester, Heather Roop, UK\u2019s director for campus accessibility and ADA coordinator, and David Beach, director of UK DRC, guided students through a campus walk to identify both challenges and successes in accessibility of the built environment. After the walk, students conducted field observations, gathered research and assessed elements such as circulation, signage, restroom design and material choices. Students were tasked to apply their findings to the Gray Design Building, the College of Design\u2019s new home. Over the course of the semester, they developed proposals aimed at improving access in the space for a wider range of users. Beach periodically joined the students during studio time to provide expert feedback\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students demonstrated exceptional quality of work and remarkable creativity in their class project, thoughtfully exploring the intersection of design and accessibility,\u201d Beach said. \u201cTheir innovative solutions reflected a deep understanding of inclusive design principles, proving that functionality and aesthetic excellence can \u2014 and should \u2014 go hand in hand. They not only focused on physical accessibility in a space, they also took a much broader view of the types of barriers students with all types of disabilities engage in their environment. This was exciting for me, because their work showed they truly understood the broad spectrum of needs and barriers for all of the users of a space and the benefit to everyone when solutions are considered from an inclusive perspective. I\u2019m excited these students are going to take this knowledge out into their future careers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As part of the final phase of the course, students incorporated\u00a0their proposals into a research poster and presented their recommendations to a group of faculty, students, alumni and design professionals. Caroline Hartsock, a rising junior in the interiors program, focused her research on restrooms. She explored how elements such as door operation, sink height and paper towel placement could be improved. Her final suggestions included automatic doors, lower sink and towel dispenser heights, clearer signage and design adjustments that would benefit a broader range of users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipating in the In:Access studio changed the way I think about interior design and accessibility by allowing me to see the world through a different lens and understand how truly important it is for spaces to be inclusive for all,\u201d Hartsock said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hartsock said that weekly project discussions and support from her instructor played a major role in her experience. She described the studio as one of the most meaningful classes of her college career and noted that it helped renew her connection to the program. She added that the skills developed in this course would be especially valuable as she works toward an impactful design career as a large-scale commercial interior architect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The In:Access studio makes it clear: interior design is not just about how a space looks, but how it works for everyone. By challenging students to think critically about inclusion, access and the role of design in people\u2019s lives, this course prepares them to become change makers in a profession with real power to shape the world around them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON, Ky.\u00a0(July\u00a018, 2025) \u2014\u00a0Interior design decisions, whether intentional or not, impact how people move through the world and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-23115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}