Why are people with disabilities still being let down by poorly designed spaces? Ensuring spaces are accessible for all shouldn’t be an afterthought, it should be part of the creative design process, says Magali Robathan
By Magali Robathan | Published in CLADmag 2020 issue 1
AART’s Musholm holiday sports and conference centre in Denmark
In 2017, artist Christopher Samuels was made technically homeless and forced to accept emergency accommodation in an inaccessible hotel room. “I couldn’t navigate around the bed in my wheelchair,” he told CLAD (see page 76). “I couldn’t get into the bed, I couldn’t use the dressing table. I couldn’t shut the bathroom door, or use the toilet or shower.”
This experience stayed with Samuels, and when art commissioning programme Unlimited put out a call for submissions to design a guestroom for an innovative arts-led hotel in Blackpool, UK, he knew what he wanted to do.
Art Bnb features 19 guestrooms-come-art installations, designed by different artists to get guests thinking.
Samuels’ room has been designed to be deliberately frustrating to use – the bed is surrounded by a high ‘lip’ that guests have to climb over, the bathroom door doesn’t shut, the television can only be viewed in the mirror and the shower gel dispenser is upside down.
“I wanted to make people experience the reality of what it’s like to be disabled: the frustrations of having to navigate a space which isn’t designed for them,” explains Samuels.
Unfortunately, Samuels’ experience is far from unusual. Twenty years on from the introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US and 15 years on from the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK, poorly designed spaces are still a reality for many.
Recently, a lawsuit was filed against the new Stephen Holl-designed Hunters Point Library in New York, with disability rights advocates arguing that the building was “designed and built with a total disregard for adults and children with mobility disabilities”.
Heatherwick’s Vessel also attracted protests and a complaint by the United States Department for Justice alleging that much of the structure was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessibility has now been improved at Vessel, and changes have been made to Hunters Point Library, but the question remains – why aren’t all users being considered at the design stage?
The Musholm holiday sports and conference centre in Korsor, Denmark, has won a host of awards for the 2015 redesign of the original site. The AART-designed venue features 24 fully accessible hotel rooms, a climbing wall suitable for wheelchair users, a relaxation room for people with difficulty concentrating, and a 100m athletics and wheelchair racing track leading up to a sky lounge.
Making spaces accessible shouldn’t be an add-on or an afterthought; it should be an integral part of the design process. It’s about the relationship between people and space; about engaging with how different bodies will use a space. Most of all, it’s about creativity, and that, after all, is what designers and architects are good at.
Why are people with disabilities still being let down by poorly designed spaces? Ensuring spaces are accessible for all shouldn’t be an afterthought, it should be part of the creative design process, says Magali Robathan
By Magali Robathan | Published in CLADmag 2020 issue 1
AART’s Musholm holiday sports and conference centre in Denmark
In 2017, artist Christopher Samuels was made technically homeless and forced to accept emergency accommodation in an inaccessible hotel room. “I couldn’t navigate around the bed in my wheelchair,” he told CLAD (see page 76). “I couldn’t get into the bed, I couldn’t use the dressing table. I couldn’t shut the bathroom door, or use the toilet or shower.”
This experience stayed with Samuels, and when art commissioning programme Unlimited put out a call for submissions to design a guestroom for an innovative arts-led hotel in Blackpool, UK, he knew what he wanted to do.
Art Bnb features 19 guestrooms-come-art installations, designed by different artists to get guests thinking.
Samuels’ room has been designed to be deliberately frustrating to use – the bed is surrounded by a high ‘lip’ that guests have to climb over, the bathroom door doesn’t shut, the television can only be viewed in the mirror and the shower gel dispenser is upside down.
“I wanted to make people experience the reality of what it’s like to be disabled: the frustrations of having to navigate a space which isn’t designed for them,” explains Samuels.
Unfortunately, Samuels’ experience is far from unusual. Twenty years on from the introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US and 15 years on from the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK, poorly designed spaces are still a reality for many.
Recently, a lawsuit was filed against the new Stephen Holl-designed Hunters Point Library in New York, with disability rights advocates arguing that the building was “designed and built with a total disregard for adults and children with mobility disabilities”.
Heatherwick’s Vessel also attracted protests and a complaint by the United States Department for Justice alleging that much of the structure was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessibility has now been improved at Vessel, and changes have been made to Hunters Point Library, but the question remains – why aren’t all users being considered at the design stage?
The Musholm holiday sports and conference centre in Korsor, Denmark, has won a host of awards for the 2015 redesign of the original site. The AART-designed venue features 24 fully accessible hotel rooms, a climbing wall suitable for wheelchair users, a relaxation room for people with difficulty concentrating, and a 100m athletics and wheelchair racing track leading up to a sky lounge.
Making spaces accessible shouldn’t be an add-on or an afterthought; it should be an integral part of the design process. It’s about the relationship between people and space; about engaging with how different bodies will use a space. Most of all, it’s about creativity, and that, after all, is what designers and architects are good at.
Atmantan Wellness Centre, an integrative wellness destination in Mulshi, near Pune in India, is
expanding its portfolio by adding a new centre in Hyderabad that will launch between 2028 and
2029.
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
