By re-contextualizing the history of architecture through the discourse of disability, David Gissen’s 2023 book The Architecture of Disability: Buildings, Cities, and Landscapes beyond Access challenges current modes of architectural practice, theory and education by proposing architecture that fully integrates disabled persons into its production. Both the author and book look beyond traditional notions of accessibility and show how certain incapacities can help to positively reimagine the roots of architecture. A Q&A session will follow Gissen’s presentation.

A disabled designer and historian of architecture, David Gissen is professor of architecture and urban history at Parsons School of Design at the New School in New York City. His 2023 book, The Architecture of Disability: Buildings, Cities, and Landscapes beyond Access, is published by University of Minnesota Press.