A Design and Disability Guide to Visiting Paris
From education to architecture history
Are you taking your design students to Paris? Are you a designer interested in inclusive design? Are you interested in disability history? Here are a few tips to visit Paris with these two themes in mind.
Paris is incredibly inaccessible
This article first started from a discussion with Bess Williamson, an American history and disability scholar. The first thing that comes to mind in Paris, regarding accessibility, when you have spent time in America, is how inaccessible it is. Cars park on sidewalks. Sidewalks that are far from large enough. Public transportations are as inaccessible as it gets. Most public buildings and social spaces — cafés, restaurants, bars — are inaccessible. Yes France has access laws: they are not applied at all, or not applied well. Just moving around Paris with an attention to accessibility is a great way to explain the need for an inclusive design curriculum and understand its importance.
History of Education for Blind and Deaf Youth
There are many places to learn more about Blind and Deaf history. Paris is the home to the first schools for Blind children: the National Institute for Blind Youth, founded by Valentin Haüy. It opened not long before the Revolution, and moved to its current location (Boulevard des Invalides) in the 19th century. The building is listed. This is where Louis Braille went to school. His museum however is situated outside of Paris. Another remarkable, though less known figure, is Thérèse-Adèle Husson. As a visit companion, I would recommend Zina Weygand’s book on the history of the Blind in France. Paris is also home to the first school for Deaf Youth, founded by the Abbé de l’Epée in the late 18th century. Both these buildings are quite exemplary of the architecture of that time, and can be visited (under conditions).
Norms in architecture: experiencing Le Corbusier
The Cité de l’Architecture et du patrimone hosts a full scale model of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation. Along with their documentation on Corbusier’s Modulor, it brings to the fore what Hamraie’s call the Normate: the body envisioned and cared for by architects and designer is very rarely disabled.
Exhibitions
Two galleries focus on Outsider art: the Halle Saint-Pierre and the Christian Berst gallery. The museum of Valentin Haüy is (at least temporarily) closed but is dedicated to the history of Blind people in France. The Museum of Mankind has hosted exhibitions on disability and society, as did the Quai Branly museum of Anthropology. The Musée des Arts et Métiers (Arts and Crafts) has worked with disability historians before, though I unfortunately cannot say disability is a major theme in their exhibitions. But you may want to check what’s on — or their collections.
The truth is, there have been many missed opportunities in the recent years to develop disability related exhibits. The Maison Rouge museum for instance hosted a celebrated exhibition on counter-cultures and fights for civil rights in France, with a strong focus on graphic design. But it did so without including disability rights organisations (such as Les Handicapés méchants).
It might be clear at this point that this is somewhat of a bittersweet guide. Despite the rich disability history of Paris, or its rich design history, they are hardly shared and transmitted by the cultural organisations who should do so.
