Chris
Laing
Activist, Architectural designer (soon to be qualified architect), consultant, founder of Signstrokes and Deaf Architecture Front, Part 2 Architectural Assistant at Haworth Tompkins
Judges Choice
I wanted to become an architect from the age of 8, but it was an incredibly tough journey with lots of barriers. For example, I had no black Deaf architect to look up to as a rolemodel.
I studied Interior Architecture & Design at UCA in Canterbury. After that, I completed a BA in Architecture from Kingston University, followed by an MA at the Royal College of Art in London. It was whilst studying at RCA that I was shortlisted for a Spatial Justice award.
In an effort to bridge the gap between architecture and the Deaf community, I recently launched Deaf Architecture Front (DAF). This follows my establishing of SignStrokes a few years ago; which is a lexicon of BSL architectural terminology.
“In the UK there are fewer than fifteen Deaf Architecture students and even fewer qualified Architects. Underrepresentation is due to a number of barriers, including a lack of BSL terminology, limited work opportunities and low visibility. ”
Disability Power 100 2023 profile information has been self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.
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