Professor Barry Clarke speaks at the Mayoral Reception
Posted: 10th December 2014
A legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is its demonstration of the enormous benefits of inclusive design in creating an environment that is accessible to everyone.
At the Mayoral Reception at City Hall last night the London 2012 inspired BEPE, celebrated its first anniversary and its progress in mainstreaming inclusive design to the education of built environment professionals during the first year of the project.
Professor Barry Clarke, Chair of the Construction Industry Council Education for the Built Environment Group (E4BE) , which represents all the professional institutions in the built environment and champions a holistic and inclusive approach to the development of the built environment, was one of the key industry speakers invited to present his progress report.
In his speech Professor Clarke outlined the work being done by the E4BE to support the BEPE and said “E4BE, working with the Chief Construction Adviser, BIS [Department for Business, Innovation and Skills] and the Professional Institutions, have identified a number of projects that impact on the education of the built environment professional, both the current and the next generation. Those projects include a campaign to encourage professional institutions to support the development of cross disciplinary curricula including inclusive and collaborative design.”
He went on to add that his own Institution, the Institution of Civil Engineers, of which he is Past President, “has been championing the concept of integrated design which makes students very aware of their professional and ethical responsibilities when it comes to design.” And that “the 50 universities in the UK educating civil engineers now run a design thread throughout their programmes which take a holistic view of design”. At his own university, Leeds, he said that “the first task students have to complete is a design, test and build project that not only allows them to appreciate the design process but also to take into account the environmental and social issues. This broad approach to design is embedded in their thinking when they tackle more substantial, real life projects in their final years.”
Professor Clarke concluded that “the professional institutions in the built environment, directly and through E4BE, are fully supportive of this inclusive approach to design.”
Click here to view speeches from the reception.
Click here to view a BEPE roundup including achievements so far and look ahead to the next twelve months.