Many More Parts than M!

Supported by Arts Council England (ACE) funding, The DisOrdinary Architecture Project developed a prototype compendium exploring how to engage with built environment accessibility in ways that take us beyond conventional checklists, templates, design guidance and legal regulations. ‘Many more parts than M!: Re-imagining disability, access and inclusion beyond compliance’, builds on the creativity and criticality of diverse disabled artists, designers, architects, scholars and activists and draws heavily on ideas from disability arts, activism and scholarship.

‘Many more parts than M!’ explores ways of engaging with built environment accessibility in ways that take us beyond conventional checklists, templates, design guidance and legal compliance. Instead, the aim of the compendium is to create a rich catalogue of alternative concepts, stories, artistic work and architectural details that can creatively and critically inform design thinking and practice. Rather than relying on either conventional disability categories (blind, wheelchair-user, deaf) or standard accessibility terms (wayfinding, tactile paving, platform lifts), the compendium is organised around an alphabet of key terms and concepts that may be new to many, but which we hope will enliven debate and help to improve the quality of design ideas around access and inclusion. The publication can be read in any order, enabling some immediate creative thinking as well as offering connections to more in-depth information.

Many more parts than M! built on from our ‘Seats at the Table’ project earlier in the year- a collaboration with ReFabricate for the London Festival of Architecture 2023. The ‘Many more parts than M!’ team included Jos Boys (Project Lead), Francesca Perry (Compendium coordinator), Scarlett Barclay (Production assistant), Tim Copsey (Film-Maker), James Zatka-Haas (ALT-text editor) and Lynn Box (Braille Sticker creator). ACE-funded participants included: Zoe Partington, Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq, Mandy Redvers-Rowe, Poppy Levison, Jordan Whitewood-Neal, James Zatka-Haas, Raquel Meseguer Zafe, Helen Stratford, Rosie Scott and Giuseppe Ferrigno.

The compendium is mainly aimed at built environment and cultural sector students, educators and professionals and is intended for browsing and for following up on some of the ideas, artists and projects included.

Access the Many more parts PDF (Including screenreader versions) here.

Access the Many more parts videos here.

The initial hard copy of the publication was launched in Manchester and London in early 2024 and was given away for free to all attendees, thanks to funding from RIBA North West, Ibstock Brick and RIBA London. Couldn’t make the launches? Check out the videos below.