Creating Functional Spaces & Solving Design Crimes!

Guest: Ed Warner, Motionspot

(Music / Open)

Janet: In this series we will be discussing specific examples of design techniques that make a positive difference for people living with certain human conditions.

Carolyn: The more a designer understands the client and or the community the more effective and respectful the design will be.

(Music / Intro)

Janet: Welcome to Inclusive Designers Podcast, I am your host, Janet Roche…

Carolyn: and I am your moderator, Carolyn Robbins…

Janet: Carolyn, we have a great show to share with everyone today,

Carolyn: … and once again, we are going global!

Janet: Yes we are!

Carolyn: We’ve got a smart…

Janet: … and witty!

Carolyn: … and generally wonderful guest from the other side of the so-called pond from us in the US… Ed Warner from Motionspot in the UK.

Janet: Motionspot has it all dialed in. I am excited about the work they are doing. Creating accessible spaces in the home, the workplace, and in hotels. And we even discuss The Queen! —I never thought I would be discussing The Queen and Design on the same podcast, but here we are!

Carolyn:  Ed even said the accessible design work for the Queen was a “step change” in the UK, helping to alter the mindset in the industry.

Janet: Uh huh. We also discuss the ‘design crimes’ being made— I love that term — and how to solve them. Ed will share some great examples of how Motionspot is raising the bar beyond the minimum required standards to design environments for people with a range of physical, cognitive, sensory needs— including neurodiversity.

Carolyn: But first, let me tell you a little more about Ed Warner. He co-founded the inclusive design studio Motionspot with his friend James Taylor…

Janet: (chuckles) … and FYI not the American folk superstar.

Carolyn: Nope. (Janet: Nope, laughs). So true. And what started as a personal quest to help James adapt his home after an accident left him paralyzed, led them to start their own company to design spaces that are accessible, inclusive, and beautiful. Motionspot is now an award-winning industry leader in inclusive design. They are based in the UK but work on projects around the globe.

Janet:  Including here in the US… it’s so impressive. We are very excited to have Ed on the show and could go on and on about him, but maybe it’s time to let him speak for himself, don’t you think, Carolyn?

Carolyn: Yes I do! And with that, here is our interview with Ed Warner… co-founder of Motionspot, creative visionary and inclusive trailblazer.

(Music / Interview)

Janet: Hello and welcome, Ed Warner from ‘Motionspot’ to Inclusive Designers Podcast. How are you today?

Ed: Hello, Janet. I’m really well thanks. Great to be here.

Janet: And you are calling in today from the UK, correct?

Ed: That’s right. I’m calling in today from my home studio in West London.

Janet: Oh, very nice. Well, welcome. I had found you in the magazine ‘Metropolis’ a little while ago. And I felt like your philosophy and Motionspots’ philosophy really was along the same lines on how I approach my inclusive designing. And I thought it would be interesting to talk to you about how you got started, your philosophy, Motionspots’ philosophy. And just to kind of give our listeners an opportunity to really hear the importance of having maybe even an inclusive bathroom within your own home, even if you’re not in a wheelchair.

Ed: Sure, uh well, Motionspot is an inclusive design business based in the UK but working internationally. I set the business up over 10-years ago now after the personal experience of an old school friend of mine and our co-founder James Taylor, who experienced a spinal cord injury in a diving accident, age 25.

He spent 8-months in a spinal injury unit in the UK and then returned to his home in South London as a wheelchair user to live his life as independently as possible. He returned home to a flat that was a beautiful home but was quite inaccessible to meet his needs. And he had a range of specialists come around and make adaptations for him.

I happened to have dinner with him in 2011. And he said to me over dinner every morning I wake up and I’m reminded of my condition because of the products around me. (Janet: Huh). And I looked at his home, and the home was, sort of resembling more like a clinical care home than his own home, full of so many products that tended to be sort of synonymous with aging and disability (Janet: Right).

And I’m a big believer that if you get the environment right for people, you can really positively impact cognitive and physical health. So I did that stupid thing that friends tend to do and said, oh, I’ll help you find some decent products. They must be out there. (Janet: laughs). And realized there was, there was very little on the market in 2011. So that was where Motionspot started.

Janet: That’s a really terrific story. And you’re so right about the cognitive and physical health of somebody. I talk frequently about my dad. He’s 87, so I’ve been helping him put in beautiful grab bars and ways to approach the bathroom that he has to make it more accessible for him at 87. And that includes for him to feel more comfortable, right? Like that he doesn’t think that he’s going to slip, or he is going to fall, right? So there’s certain things that I’ve helped him with.

But the reason why I bring that up is, is that he actually used the word disabled. Like, well, now I’m disabled. And even just those grab bars, and