Inclusive design

Usagimochi Hare-Rate Tsubame is an indoor children’s playground located in Tsubame City, Niigata—a region renowned for its metalworking heritage and the harsh climate of the Japan Sea coast. Conceived as an all-weather community sanctuary, the project offers a safe and vibrant environment where children can play freely throughout the year, protected from heavy winter snowfall and humid summers. Tsubame City   Kouji Horiuchi Kouji Horiuchi The interior is organized into three distinct plazas—Yochi-Yochi, Suku-Suku, and Wai-Wai—each tailored to different developmental stages and play intensities. Encircling these areas, a looping second-floor track encourages active movement, while expansive safet... More

AstraZeneca is a leading global pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of innovative medicines. Its Buenos Aires headquarters is located in the DOT Building, strategically positioned in the northern area of the city, offering excellent accessibility. When the company decided to renovate its offices to modernize its brand identity and align the local workspace with AstraZeneca’s global standards, it entrusted Contract Workplaces with the project, relying on its expertise and deep knowledge of the local market. Andrés Negroni The new design retains its original 1,613 sqm footprint and is guided by principles of flexibility, sustainability, and inclusion, with the goal of creating... More

Sankofa Mobile Museum is an interactive traveling museum serving schools across Prince George’s County and the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It introduces students to “untold” histories spanning 10,000 years, bringing forward narratives that have often been marginalized or overlooked. “Sankofa,” a word from the Twi language of Ghana, means “to go back and retrieve the past in order to move forward.” The concept emphasizes reclaiming suppressed histories and establishing a critical dialogue between past and present. Courtesy of Sankofa Mobile Museum, Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George's County Today, the primary challenge facing museums is not only attracting visitors, but r... More

Notre‑Dame‑du‑Paradis Elementary School stands in the rural municipality of Dudswell, in the Eastern Townships of Québec, as a typical 1960s school building set within a scenic landscape of fields and forests. The renovation and expansion project extends the life of this familiar structure by introducing new learning and sports facilities, while significantly improving accessibility and upgrading the existing building envelope and systems.​ Charles Lanteigne Charles Lanteigne Charles Lanteigne The extension houses a double gymnasium with its support spaces, a dedicated classroom for four‑year‑old kindergarten, a preschool dining room and new changing rooms. An elevator now connects the three existing floor levels, res... More

Travel Portland’s new Visitor Center extends a bold, cheerful “Welcome to Portland!” to visitors and locals alike, offering free resources and curated recommendations in a one-of-a-kind space. Following 2020’s pandemic and civil unrest, as travel dropped and local businesses struggled, it was clear Portland needed a cheerful advocate to share affirming, welcoming new narratives about the city. Envisioned as a catalyst to revitalize downtown and transform the city’s reputation, the Visitor Center is vibrant community hub that celebrates the best Portland has to offer. David Papazian Photography David Papazian Photography The design of the Visitor Center captures the spirit of Travel Portland’s m... More

Sanofi, one of the key pharmaceutical companies in Poland and worldwide, has recently opened its new Warsaw office, exemplifying the synergy between nature and modernity. Sophisticated aesthetics and functionality are the key elements defining this innovative space created by our design studio The Design Group. The project, based on a harmonious combination of organic forms and innovative solutions, provides employees not only with an ergonomic workspace but also with a unique place for relaxation and inspiration. We invite you to explore this fascinating project that combines the highest standards of interior design with the company's mission and values. W środku, The Design Group W środku, The Design Group Sanofi is a global en... More

“A world of wonder for children led by independent discovery, grounded by research and well-being advocacy” WY-TO Singapore was announced as the winner of the Keppel Centre for Art Education in early 2023. The practice based in Singapore and Paris, with expertise in experiential design, was invited to participate in the Research and Design tender. Participating firms were called upon to propose an innovative revamp of the 1,500 sqm art centre guided by their research methodology. WY-TO’s literature research on Childhood Development and Elements of Art was applauded by the client, thereby awarding the project to them. Memphis West Pictures The winning proposal was built from their experiential expertise in designing... More

A space for all people. With our eyes set on at the wall and the old quarter of Almazán and imagining the movement of its inhabitants (all of them), we seek to obtain the most natural possible response to establish a real and proper relationship between this new public space and both parts of the town (the old quarter and the expansion), eliminating the previous sensation of barrier, with a 5-meter difference level, which made this passage difficult or insurmountable for some of its inhabitants.  Javier Bravo It is from this conversation between the town and its people, when the lines and folds of the new "Plaza del Zarrón" are born, making possible different routes and ways of being that represent each user withou... More

The new Student Center at Western Michigan University (WMU) is a beacon of inclusion. Located on lands historically occupied by Ojibwe, Odawa and Bodewadmi nations, the building is designed to be a student-centered gathering place that champions belonging and honors the roots of Native American heritage embedded throughout the site.   Christopher Barrett Laura Peters | CannonDesign Laura Peters | CannonDesign Replacing the Bernhard Center, the new vibrant space is designed to foster connection, community and collaboration for all students. The three-level building features gathering and lounge spaces, dining options, the campus bookstore, an anticipated on-campus brewpub, retail locations such as FedEx and Starbucks, an... More

Founded in 1987, Ningbo Damin School is an excellent full-time school for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Moderate and severe intellectual disabilities are predominantly students enrolled in the school, and autistic students accounting for 1/4 of the total number of students.   XIRU The campus as a whole is rather dated and needs some new energy. As a special education school, the campus landscape lacks 'specialness’. The site is relatively monofunctional and lacks interactivity. Outdoor sports equipment is underage and unutilized, while there is a lack of outdoor rehabilitation training facilities for children. The campus planting ignores the rehabilitative function of the plants themselves. There... More

This project was designed through a collaboration between Lemay, Angela Silver, and AtkinsRéalis   Reconnecting Montreal’s city’s historic neighbourhood with its downtown core,  the Place des Montréalaises bridges the sunken Ville-Marie Expressway with through a universally accessible inclined plane of a public plaza. Prominently displaying a floating urban meadow, it offers a tributary bouquet of 21 species of plants which pay homage to 21 women who have shaped Montreal throughout the city’s history.  Vincent Brillant Creating a poetic and inclusive experience, the names of these women also mark the plane’s staircase, and become the conceptual material of the Place des Montr&eacu... More

Located in Calgary’s Forest Lawn neighbourhood, the traditional territory of the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Iyarhe Nakoda, and Tsuut’ina Nations as well as the Metis Nation of Region 3, the USAY Youth Centre was co-designed and co-authored between Lemay and the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY).  Designed as a much-needed place of belonging and personal development for the thousands of Indigenous youth USAY supports between the ages of 12 and 29, this 5,000 square foot building with an adjoining 6,400 square foot outdoor lot acts as a hub of accessibility, safety, cultural relevance, education, and skill-building. The project measures nearly 5,000 square feet across two floors, encompassing a main floor composed of... More