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When school feels like an institution, students feel institutionalized. This underscores the importance of providing biophilia-rich environments that reduce stress, improve well-being, and foster student community and belonging in schools designed for universal access. Two recently completed case studies illustrate universal design that is amplified by low carbon, high-performance building strategies. The Creekside Center renovation at the University of California, Berkeley, transformed a modest, wood framed building into a new home for the University’s Disabled Students’ Program. Washington School for the Deaf, Divine Academic and Hunter Gymnasium leverages mass timber to center the Deaf experience in a fully accessible K-12 learning environment, engaging the whole student through heightened sensory experience – responsively tuned to each program, pedagogy and purpose.

Join Mithun partner JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox for “Universal Design and Low Carbon: A Symbiotic Relationship,” a panel presentation that will demonstrate how aligning universal design and low carbon strategies can lead to high performing buildings for communities historically marginalized from the design of the built environment. Panelists will share examples of how carefully curated accessibility features can be seamlessly integrated into a building’s architecture, and how low carbon strategies support universal design goals. Attendees will learn how inclusive design and technical research complement each other, creating welcoming and safe buildings for students and staff with disabilities.

JoAnn’s co-presenters are Hansel Bauman architecture + planning founding principal Hansel Bauman, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects associate Cecily Ng and University of California, San Francisco Real Estate senior program manager for ADA Ben Perez.

Date Posted: 11.06.2025