Deaf Architecture Front

Launched in June 2023, Deaf Architecture Front (DAF) is an ambitious platform and collective set up to create a bridge between the Deaf community and the architecture industry. Historically, the barriers preventing Deaf people from engaging with architectural practice have been all but insurmountable, with as few as five Deaf people working as qualified architects in the UK today. One of them is DAF’s founder, Chris Laing.

An architectural designer, activist and consultant who trained at the RCA, Chris is also the co-founder (with Adolfs Kristapsons) of the Signstrokes project, an online resource aiming to establish a linguistic framework for specialist architectural terminology in British Sign Language (BSL). DAF absorbs and builds on the work of Signstrokes, acting as a platform for research, consultation and activism that challenges the status quo, recognises and champions Deaf architects, and creates a broader spectrum of opportunities for Deaf practitioners within the architecture and spatial design industries.

WHAT WE DO FOR Deaf Architecture Front

Having met Chris at a Design Can event in 2022, Zetteler was seriously impressed by Chris and the energy of his ambition to make UK architecture a more inclusive field, and as our own founder Sabine is deaf, DAF’s cause is especially resonant. We’re proud to support such an important – and potentially game-changing – project.

deafarchitecturefront.com