This studio investigates architecture as a framework for inclusion, dignity, independence, accessibility, and community. 

Through precedent analysis, students will study how architecture can support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, aging populations, neurodiverse users, caregivers, and broader communities through thoughful spatial organization and inclusive design strategies.

The class was divided into 5 Research Groups with 3 Students Per Group

Each group became the studio’s “expert team” for one thematic category of inclusive housing and community design.  Each group analyzed:

• 3 precedent projects

• one domestic precedent

• one international precedent

• one comparative precedent (optional)

In Assignment 1B, students will test these ideas through direct observation and embodied experience. Through wheelchair navigation, blindfolded circulation exercises, and sensory mapping studies, students will evaluate how architecture supports or limits accessibility, comfort, orientation, independence, participation, and sensory regulation.

Assignment 1C engaged students, self-advocates, caregivers, and community partners in a collaborative visioning workshop. Guided by My Story narratives—personal accounts describing daily life, preferences, aspirations, and support needs—students explored how architecture can foster dignity, autonomy, belonging, and meaningful participation in community life. The workshop established a foundation of shared values and design criteria that informed the studio's later design work.