Implementing Inclusive Design in Architectural Education and Design Practice

The objective of the article is to present working methods in didactics and in design practice in terms of the implementation of the inclusive design concept. It obliges the students and participants to be involved in the design process in order to recognize the needs and preferences of different user groups. Additionally, since the development of ICT technology allows us to increase the availability of space, the expansion of the range of tools in the design process requires the expansion of the knowledge of future designers. Therefore, the authors pose questions: how to educate future architects in this context? what tools and technologies to offer to local communities so that they can actively participate in such design processes? The subject of the analyses involves the implemented didactic projects regarding the solutions for the elderly and the disabled, both in facilities having the caring function and in public spaces. The effects of the completed didactic projects and project activities had a diverse character: from conceptual designs to the prototypes of small architecture elements. The basic assumption in the implemented projects is to adopt the formula of education through experience and the use of pre-project research. According to the state of the knowledge in this respect, the effectiveness of a design process for people with disabilities requires direct contact with users, research on the functioning of space and how it is experienced. The article presents the tools and techniques of work applied in the method 'education trough experience': focus meetings, individual interviews, observational studies, role playing, experimenting, testing the solutions.