Developed in partnership with Queer Places and RIBA, a new toolkit has been has been created to provide architects and built environment professionals with the tools to embed meaningful engagement with the LGBTQIA+ community.
Created alongside the Inclusive Design Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work, the new toolkit is designed to support that process in action – helping teams move beyond good intentions and into meaningful conversations, decisions, and change.
Built on the premise that inclusion is not a checklist, the toolkit is something that is tested, negotiated, maintained, and practised throughout the life of a project.
Set up across seven sections, the kit applies LGBTQIA+ inclusion at each stage of the RIBA Plan of Work. From strategic definition, to preparation and brief, concept design, spatial coordination, technical design, manufacturing and construction, handover and close out and use and post-occupancy.
“Today, architects, designers, clients, and public bodies are increasingly being asked to create spaces that better support LGBTQIA+ communities, from housing and healthcare settings to public space, culture, education, and the adaptive reuse of existing venues,” says RIBA, adding:
“This work is not only relevant to people who openly identify as LGBTQIA+. Questions around privacy, safety, visibility, comfort, disclosure, and belonging shape how many people experience space, including those who are questioning, not publicly “out”, or navigating environments where they may not feel fully safe or recognised.”
The toolkit has also be developed after a year of engagement and research with LGBTQIA+ communities and built environment professionals.
Luke Fawcett, artist and urban designer, takes to LinkedIn on the publication announcement:
“And a special thank you to everyone who came to our engagement sessions, tested ideas, shared experiences and helped shape the toolkit. Your voices are at the heart of it.”
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