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Making access visible in architecture

Since the first competition in 2003/04, the Schindler Award has contributed a great deal to raising awareness of the issue of accessibility among young architects and architectural institutions in Europe.

The Award grew out of the Schindler Group's involvement in the European Year of Disabled People in 2003, when Schindler supported projects aimed at raising awareness of the obstacles faced by disabled people. Initially, the Award concentrated on improving disabled access. But rapid urban growth and demographic changes have made accessibility an issue for all urban dwellers, and the Award has broadened its focus accordingly.

A significant achievement of the Schindler Award has been to bring accessibility as a topic into European schools of architecture. Many schools which supported their students' participation have introduced the topic into lectures and their curricula with the result that many young architects in Europe realize that accessibility – or more often the lack of it – affects a significant and growing proportion of the population.

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