The American Printing House (APH) is undergoing a large capital project that involves both a complete renovation and expansion of the current building, which houses a tactile graphics and braille embossing factory, staff offices, recording studios for audio books, and more. As part of this campaign, The Dot Experience, a complete redesign of a previous on-site museum has been undertaken and in design and construction. Given the over 160 year long pivotal nature of APH within the blind and print-disabled community, it is imperative that the museum not only be accessible but fully inclusive to the widest possible audience.
This session will present and explore the journey of building a fully accessible museum, including earlier learning opportunities, the incredible amounts of collaboration between stakeholders such as the design partner, fabrication, accessibility experts, inclusive design consultants, client stakeholders, the disability community advisory group, and so much more. We will enumerate the various phases of the project and the ways in which the design of this museum responds to and centers a multimodal approach to storytelling, artifact presentation, factory tours, media presentation, and interactivity in both physical and digital forms.
We will also explore the rich suite of prototyping tactics used in co-creation and validation of various experiential design approaches. We will explore and share how we carefully thought through considerations about when to involve community groups, experts, consultants, and other partners to maximize an authentic approach and gain project efficiencies along the way.
Learning Objectives
- Understand how early integration of accessibility and inclusion in project planning minimizes costs, enhances visitor experiences, and ensures consistent, deliberate implementation across all visitor-facing offerings.
- Apply inclusive design as a methodology to conceive, design, implement, and operate experiential offerings that effectively include 25% more of the population—specifically disabled individuals, along with their friends, families, care companions, and related communities.
- Explore how iterative prototyping, reimagining traditional approaches, and thoughtfully designing the built environment can create inclusive museum experiences that enhance visitor satisfaction, increase accessibility, and drive institutional objectives such as visitation, repeat visits, earned revenue, and community engagement.
- Understand the importance of fostering an authentic commitment to inclusivity and accessibility throughout the ideation, design, build, and operational phases, recognizing that this dedication goes beyond budget considerations to create truly accessible and inclusive visitor experiences.
- Examine how prioritizing inclusivity and accessibility not only differentiates organizations by fostering a sense of belonging for traditionally underserved visitors but also drives tangible business returns, inspiring further investment in this meaningful and impactful work.
AIA Continuing Education Course Number, BMS2025-15
