Invited Speakers

Jim Harrison currently teaches design at Cork Centre for Architectural Education, researching in areas of design for ageing, inclusion and accessibility. For 18 Years he taught as Associate Professor in Architecture at the National University of Singapore, moving in 2004 to Queen’s University Belfast, to concentrate on teaching and research.

With long experience of teaching at all levels of Architecture courses, he also supervised Postgraduate thesis to PhD level and has lectured in Technology Integration, History in Late 20th Century Architecture, Tropical Architecure, Traditional Building Form and Principles of Design, as well as curriculum development in Architecture courses.

As a UN Expert Resource Person in Inclusive and Universal Design, Jim participates in initiatives throughout Asia, contributing to workshops on accessible environments and giving presentations on user-friendly design. In 2017 he undertook a comprehensive Access Audit of the UNESCAP HQ Conference Centre in Bangkok, and in 2014 was invited to the ‘ESCAP South-South Cooperation Programme on Accessibility; in Guangzhou, Macau and Hong Kong China, advising on aspects of Universal Design, Access Audits, field visits and experiential sessions.

He was a member of the committee revising the Singapore Access Code, contributing a section on design for older people. His numerous publications include chapters in the “Universal Design Handbook”, and “Universal Design: 17 Ways of Thinking and Teaching”, plus over 50 papers and articles, a collection of which were presented for a Higher Doctorate (LittD) from the University of Sheffield in 2004.

His works towards the integration of universal design into the architectural curriculum, as well as supervising PhD students researching cutting-edge topics, such as embedded sensors in responsive built environments and co-housing solutions for ageing occupants. Jim enjoys travel and experiencing different cultures and landscapes, sketching, hill-walking, cycling, making things, including restoring a traditional Irish thatched cottage.