Designing for All: Creating Inclusive and Compliant Restroom Spaces

AIAU25-IAKC01R

Included in subscription

1 LU|HSW

Course expires on: 09/10/2028

$30

Architect$30

Member Price

$45

Non-member Price

Description

This course examines inclusive restroom design, addressing the diverse needs of various populations and emphasizing the need to both comply with evolving codes and standards but also to move beyond code compliance. It begins with an introduction to Stalled!, a design/research initiative headed by Sanders’ office JSA/MIXdesign that is dedicated to the design and implementation of safe and accessible restroom and locker room prototypes and guidelines, then will move on to discuss examples of Stalled! principles as applied in JSA/MIXdesign’s projects. The course will also explore recent amendments to the International Plumbing Code (IPC), detailing provisions for all-gender multi-user restrooms and single-user facilities. Participants will explore social constructs that have led to spatial discrimination, promoting spatial equity through design. The course will cover best practices for creating safe, accessible public restrooms that address the health, safety, and well-being of people of different ages, genders, religions, and disabilities. Additionally, the course will cover sustainable design practices, including water and energy conservation techniques. You'll gain an understanding of how fixture calculations and placement play a role in accessibility. Finally, the course will address how to navigate code challenges and utilize alternative materials and methods to achieve innovative and inclusive designs. This course is tailored for architects and designers aiming to create inclusive and sustainable spaces while adhering to updated codes and promoting equality of experience.

This session was recorded live on October 14, 2025.

Learning Objectives

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Learn recent amendments to the IPC (International Plumbing Code), the model code that governs bathroom standards in the USA, that make provisions for all-gender restrooms.

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Explore new perspectives on social constructs that have enabled practices of spatial discrimination and spatial equity.

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Learn Best Practice Guidelines for the creation of safe, and inclusive public restrooms that address the health, safety, and well-being of people of different ages, genders, religions, and disabilities.

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Learn techniques for making sustainable restrooms through the introduction of energy and water conservation techniques including low-flush toilets, motion-activated fixtures, water remediating planters, and composting toilets.

Presented in partnership with the Interior Architecture Knowledge Community (IAKC).

Instructors

Bob Dillon

AIA

Bob Dillon, AIA is a member of the AIA Interior Architecture Knowledge Community (IAKC) Leadership Committee. He has more than three decades of experience focused on a variety of interior architecture projects for the workplace, healthcare, and hospitality sectors. Bob is the Quality Assurance Director for Vocon Architecture based in their New York City office.

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Joel Sanders

FAIA

Joel is the founder and principal of JSA/MIXdesign, a human-centered, full-service inclusive architectural design studio that looks at accessibility beyond code compliance. The studio is dedicated to making everyday building types—restrooms, art museums, and university campuses—accessible and welcoming to people of different ages, genders, abilities, cultural identities, and religions. JSA/MIXdesign initiatives include Stalled!, an AIA award-winning project that responds to national controversies surrounding transgender access to public restrooms, and MIXmuseum, a toolkit of strategies to make museums better meet the needs of their diverse audiences.
Sanders also holds a dual appointment as a Professor in the Practice at Yale School of Architecture and as a Professor at Yale School of Public Health, where he teaches classes that look at the intersection of architecture, inclusivity beyond code compliance, and mental and physical health. Joel received an honorary doctorate from Aalto University in 2025.

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