STADPLURAAL | Designing Accessible Futures - Architecture and Disability Justice

Between 16% and 24% of the population identifies as disabled, yet they remain systematically underrepresented in society, including in architecture and design. This discussion highlights the importance of shifting power to disabled communities, whose lived experiences should actively inform the design of spaces, care systems, and future environments. This conversation is part of STADPLURAAL, a Recyclart format for multidisciplinary exchanges on the right to the city and collective practices in urbanism, architecture, and spatial design. The 2026 season examines barriers and norms, exploring how to crip the city and imagine non-ableist urban spaces. > Fien Criel, Cripping the Space Fien Criel (she/her) is a political scientist. Confronted with institutional ableism and unaccessable architecture, she broke a pact to never write or work from her own disabled experience and analysed the university’s inclusion policy. She is fascinated by urban development as a way to imagine alternative futures. > Poppy Levison, DisOrdinary Architecture Project (UK) Poppy Levison (she/her) is a designer, researcher, and disability activist. DisOrdinary Architecture is a UK-based not-for-profit platform rooted in the experiences and creativity of disabled artists, aiming to shift paradigms around disability, access, and inclusion. > Henri Bistuer & Josefien Cornette, The Wheelies Project The Wheelies Project improves accessibility and promotes inclusion in Brussels and Belgium by actively involving people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, as well as their allies. Henri Bistuer (he/him) is a accessibility expert and architect ; Josefien Cornette (they/them) is an artistic researcher, writer in disability studies, crip and queer theory, and feminist activism. > Meike de Roest (Moderation) Meike de Roest (she/her) creates theatre and podcasts about (chronic) illness. In her performance Levenslijn (Lifeline), she explores hospital life and the experience of a twenty-something living with cancer and type 1 diabetes. Meike works for the Brussels Arts Council (RABKO) and studied spoken word and journalism.