I chose to focus on accessibility because I’ve lived the consequences of accessibility being an afterthought. As a wheelchair user, I’ve felt the difference between spaces that technically “meet requirements” and spaces that genuinely welcome me. That gap between compliance and care is where my design work begins. I understand in my body that accessibility isn’t a set of measurements pulled from a website; it’s something that you experience, negotiate, and sometimes fight for every day. That lived perspective makes me more attuned to the subtle barriers others overlook. The gradients are too steep, the corners are too tight, and the signage assumes everyone processes information the same way.

Disabled toilets are so often treated like an afterthought: the clinical white box, NHS-spec grab rails, cold flooring, the sense that someone ordered a disabled toilet package online and bolted it to the wall without a second thought. Meanwhile, the “normal” toilets are beautifully designed, atmospheric, and intentional. Why should we have any less? As a wheelchair user, I’ve felt that message in my body that accessibility is functional, not beautiful, necessary, but not worthy of care. It’s not only aesthetics, but it’s also the lack of fully accessible toilets with hoists and adult changing tables that force so many people to leave a building entirely just to use the toilet. This is exclusion at its most basic level. In my building, that will not be the case. We provide multiple fully accessible toilets, not just for users, but as a resource for the surrounding area, because dignity shouldn’t depend on whether the nearest Changing Places facility happens to be open. Accessibility deserves the same humanity as every other part of a building.

I focus on accessibility because it is not abstract to me; it is dignity, independence, and the right to move through the world without feeling like a problem. Designing accessibility at the centre is my way of ensuring that no one else has to navigate spaces that weren’t built with them in mind.