DMA Conversation 1: Access Washing with Karen Braitmayer and Natasha Trotman

Disability Meets Architecture is a co-created podcast miniseries, enabling conversations that cross boundaries between architecture, disability studies and related disciplines; and across theory and practice beyond the conventions of conventional access.

Each conversation featured in Disability Meets Architecture draws on a different productive friction and places two activists, architects, designers, writers or artists in dialogue. This one, on ‘access washing,’ an expression coined by Stacey Milbern, considers the power dynamics in the design process and projects, where and how Disabled practitioners are involved, and to what extent ‘access’ is understood on a deep, systemic rather than superficial level.

This episode features Karen L. Braitmayer, FAIA (she/her), a licensed architect and accessibility specialist who is a full-time wheelchair user with hearing loss. Karen founded Studio Pacifica, an access consultancy in Washington State which foregrounds Disabled practitioners.

Karen is in conversation with Natasha Trotman (she/they), a UK-based Neurodivergent and disabled international Equalities Designer and Researcher advancing inclusive, accessible, evidence-led design with neurodivergent, disabled, and underserved communities. Natasha is a frequent collaborator with DisOrdinary Architecture.

Transcript here.

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DMA is brought to you by The DisOrdinary Architecture Project and Critical Design Lab, with this miniseries funded by The Graham Foundation.

Your hosts are Aimi Hamraie and Jos Boys, with Scar Barclay and Paul DeFazio supporting the series production. Ilana Nevins is our editor, with Scar finalising edits for the DisOrdinary Architecture version.

Find out more about this project and related projects at disordinaryarchitecture.co.uk and criticaldesignlab.com.

Find out more about Karen’s work here: 

Website: StudioPacificaSeattle.com 

Instagram: @StudioPacificaSeattle

Find out more about Natasha’s work here: 

Website: natashamtrotman.com 

Instagram: @trottykins

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