Nicki Hutley from Deloitte Access Economics, Amy Child from global engineering firm Arup and Chris Veitch from UK based Access New Business are among the line-up of speakers at this year’s Australian Universal Design Conference.
Taking place at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from September 4-5, the conference aims to broaden thinking about the ways universal design can be utilised and applied. The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Home and Away’ will focus on universal design in relation to housing and tourism.
“Those who attend gain a deeper understanding of what accessible and universal design housing is, and some of the difficulties that have been experienced along the way of implementing these ideas,” Centre for Universal Design Australia founding director, Jane Bringolf told F2L.
“The program has a good mix of academic professionals and people with practical experience in universal design covering topics such as the economics of inclusion and the future of transportation.
“Chris Veitch is coming from the UK to share his perspective on inclusive tourism. The speakers are being very generous with their time and their support and contributions to the conference is invaluable,” she said.
Economist Nicki Hutley heads Deloitte’s urban advisory practice and will address issues including affordable housing, urban renewal and social policies.
Amy Child, an associate and transport planner at Arup, specialises in urban strategy and active mobility and helped develop a transport strategy for the new Perth Stadium.
Kieran O’Donnell, senior project officer at the Australian Building Codes Board will also be speaking at the conference, outlining the process for considering accessible housing and the national construction code, followed by a dedicated Q&A session.
According to Bringolf, the conference will be of interest to a broad range of professionals, from designers, architects and planners, to those in the tourism industry, government representatives, destination and event organisers and others in the community.
Those who register to attend the conference before August 7 will receive an early bird discount on their ticket.
To view the full speaker program, visit www.universaldesignconference.com.au.