Collective Access: Disability, Gender, and Design

In connection with the exhibition Fantasizing Design: Phyllis Birkby Builds Lesbian Feminist Architecture, this online panel discussion invites historians of design and disability to share a story—historical or contemporary—where disability and feminist frameworks come together to shape the making of a building, space, or mode of architectural representation.

Disability justice activist Mia Mingus describes collective access as a framework that centers interdependence and connects disability justice to other movements, including feminism and queer/trans liberation. To this end, collective access provides a useful lens for understanding architect Phyllis Birkby’s intersectional interests and interventions in designing spaces for women, queer people, people with disabilities, and the elderly. In addition to leading the “fantasy environment” project, in which she encouraged women to draw their ideal homes and spaces, Birkby was responsible for many projects that centered the needs and desires of people with disabilities. In 1970, for instance, while working at the firm Davis, Brody and Associates (now Davis Brody Bond), Birkby designed an accessible master plan and new library for Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus in line with their pioneering program for people with disabilities. In her own private practice, Birkby was invested in creating spaces of care—homes, medical facilities, and community centers—designed for people with a range of accessibility needs, alternative family structures, and at various stages of life. Her work in these contexts also inspired her to travel to Denmark and Germany in the 1980s, where she researched new approaches to collective, accessible housing for elderly communities.

In conversation with Mingus’ definition of collective access, and inspired by Birkby’s multi-faceted design career, this event will feature under-told histories of intersectional approaches to design. The event will begin with an introduction from the curators of Fantasizing Design: Phyllis Birkby Builds Lesbian Feminist Architecture, Stephen Vider and M.C. Overholt, followed by a series of presentations from the event panelists Aimi Hamraie, David Serlin, and May Khalife and a brief Q&A session.

American Sign Language interpretation will be provided. This event will be realtime captioned by a live captioner (CART).​​​​​​​

Speakers:

Aimi Hamraie, Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, and Society, Vanderbilt University

May Khalife, Assistant Professor, Architecture and Interior Design, Miami University

David Serlin, Professor of Communication, University of California, San Diego

Moderators:

Stephen Vider, Co-Curator of Fantasizing Design: Phyllis Birkby Builds Lesbian Feminist Architecture;

Associate Professor of History and Program Co-Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies, Bryn Mawr College

M.C. Overholt, Co-Curator of Fantasizing Design: Phyllis Birkby Builds Lesbian Feminist Architecture;

PhD Candidate in the History and Theory of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design;

Visiting Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute, School of Architecture