The international Invisible Accessibility Competition: Together, Let’s All Go to the Sports Center! seeks to stimulate ideation and mobilize creativity in young designers, proposing inclusive experiences at the CEPSUM, the Université de Montréal’s sports centre.
Brief
As a matter of principle, if a public space is not accessible, it remains a space of exclusion. The main idea of the Invisible Accessibility Competition is to create proposals for a built environment that is of high quality to all, where accessibility is integrated in an indistinguishable manner. The accessibility of the spaces cannot simply be ensured by a series of technical and disjointed solutions that specifically address people with disabilities in a normative way.
From the perspective of the Invisible Accessibility Competition, universal accessibility encompasses the global state of the project experience, rather than a series of dedicated structures made up of identifiable and visible devices. The Faculté de l’aménagement is looking for ideas that enable an invisible experience of accessibility for enjoying multiple activities at the sports centre.
This competition is not a project competition: it is an ideas competition. Projects submitted should not propose simple technical adjustments to the building or its site, but rather transformative ideas that offer inclusive and equitable experiences for all users.
Competition Guidelines
The Invisible Accessibility Competition is structured around three typical sports centre experiences that are not currently universally accessible:
- The main entrance: Rethinking the entrance and reception of the sports centre
- Carabins stadium: Improving the game-going experience
- The pool: Creating an inclusive swimming experience
Prizes
Proposals will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary jury of eight experts. For each of the three experiences, three winning projects will be awarded:
- First prize (gold): $6,000.00 CAD
- Second prize (silver): $3,000.00 CAD
- Third prize (bronze): $1,500.00 CAD
- All winners will also receive a certificate of merit
