Participating in WDA Symposium during the AIA Conference on Architecture

WELCOME TO WDA

Announcement:

Updated 4/32023: Three Opening Positions for the Board of WDA.

We are currently seeking talented individuals to contribute to our growing board team.

WDA’s mission is to positively shape culture, commerce, and people’s lives through innovative design solutions for the built environment. Our WDA Board of Directors strength include: education, training program and workshop, fund raising, mentorship, coordination with the AIA Office of Diversity and Knowledge Communities

Provide us a letter or email of interest, resume and work sample to Info@worlddeafarchitecture.org.

WDA’23 symposium will be held in San Francisco on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at the Moscone Convention Center. For more details, please the link “Events” above about the WDA symposium. For RSVP, please email: info@worlddeafarchitecture.org

World Deaf Architecture (WDA) is to provide a sanctuary and place of refuge to bring together American and international deaf/hard of hearing architects, landscape architects, engineers, and designers to provide opportunities for networking, professional development, and education worldwide. We encourage ourselves with hearing loss, hearing of deaf relatives, and other disabilities to reach out to specific knowledge community leadership as well as we are members and non-members of AIA. We are working in collaborative with the AIA knowledge communities to educate better architects and professional designers as to the needs of deaf and hard of hearing users of space.

WDA is pleased to host Chris Downey, AIA, and Joel Sander, FAIA, as two keynote speakers for the WDA’23 Symposium in San Francisco on June 7, 2023. See “Events” for detailed symposium.

Keynote Title: architecture Beyond Sight.

Chris’ Bio: Blind since 2008. Leveraging this altered perspective as a differentiating strength, he now specializes in projects for the blind and low vision along with the broader disability community as well as cultural, transit and technology projects. In all cases, Chris brings his personal and professional experience through sight loss to creatively and respectfully curate a sense of delight whether it is seen or not.

Chris’s Appointment: UC Berkeley, Department of Architecture appointed Mr. Downey as Visiting Professor of Practice in Social Justice in Design, he had the opportunity to teach a graduate architecture studio in 2022 and seminar in 2023. He also serves as chair of the California Commission on Disability Access and is the immediate past chair of the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind, Board of Directors. Chris has been featured in numerous media stories, including “60 Minutes”, has exhibited internationally including the Victoria & Albert Museum and speaks internationally including a TED talk with over a million views.

Keynote Title: MIX’s intersectional design approach.

Joel Sanders, FAIA, is the founder of JSA/MIXdesign, an architectural studio and inclusive design think tank and consultancy dedicated to making everyday building types accessible and welcoming to people of different ages, genders, abilities, cultural identities, and religions. In addition to being Principal of JSA/MIXdesign, Sanders is a Professor at Yale School of Architecture and Yale School of Public Health, where he teaches classes that look at the intersection of architecture and mental and physical health. He is the author of three books -- STUD: Architectures of Masculinity, Joel Sanders Writings and Projects and Groundwork: Between Landscape and Architecture. His projects have been featured in international exhibitions and the permanent collections of MoMA, SFMoMA, Cooper Hewitt, Art Institute of Chicago and the Carnegie Museum of Art.