Throughout 2018 The DisOrdinary Architecture Project has had Arts Council England (ACE) funding to work across UK architectural and interiors education, so as to be able to expand and extend its reach to more architecture and built environment courses. We want to build the capacity of disabled artists to engage effectively with built environment education and practice, and to promote the importance of creativity and  difference in informing building design processes.

This year we are working with Manchester School of Architecture; Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape; CASS Foundation Programme, London Metropolitan University; Westminster University Department of Architecture and Built Environment; University of Brighton School of Architecture and Design; Regents University London; Architectural Association London; and Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. We are trying out different processes – from ‘hit-squads’ of several artists working with large groups in an intensive half-day  session to disabled artist’s residencies, where artists are embedded across courses for a whole semester. We are also working across different levels of study, from Foundation to PT3, and in different subject areas, including design and history and theory.

The long-term strategy is to challenge mind-sets, encourage students and educators to engage positively with disability and built space; and to place disabled artists at the centre of inclusion in a sensitive, creative and provocative way.