Justice in Design.

Demographic changes linked to age distribution and migration, and changes in how disability is understood challenge architects and other designers to consider human differences to meet the needs of the widest possible audience – the purpose of inclusive design. Yet, paradoxically, taking these differences seriously may severely restrict ‘the widest possible audience.’ People with a major functional impairment, for instance, may require solutions that would hamper others. How, then, can design be fair if it is impossible to meet the needs of all? In seeking a way out of this paradox, a research line on justice in design was initiated, in collaboration with colleagues from other design domains as well as from social and political philosophy. The research in the context of the Francqui Research Professorship builds upon the initial insights gained, and is directed at understanding and explaining how questions of justice arise and are actually engaged with in design.