Biography
Responsible for Accessibility and Inclusive Design of the London 2012 Olympic Park and Venues she brings unrivalled experience from the London 2012 Games,
A recognised expert in Inclusive design, Margaret has a proven record of success while working with designers and users alike. Margaret always strives to give effective pragmatic advice often finding out of the box solutions to delivering an inclusive experience for all. Always a supporter of equality, in 1969 she became an electrical engineering apprentice, so unusual at the time that it made the national news. She won awards as an apprentice for her many achievements and has continued to receive awards throughout her working life. She continued in engineering, had a family and went on to become a trade union president and a woman of the year. As Margaret became a wheelchair user, she started to apply her engineering knowledge in inclusive design. She has extensive practical experience of ensuring accessibility to the built environment from buried monuments to Olympic venues and a Parliament. Margaret most recently developed the Inclusive Design Strategy and Standards for the new venues built for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Margaret regularly delivers talks about her experiences of inclusive design with a quirky sense of humour and thought provoking delivery Margaret will always get her message across.
Industry Expertise (2)
Design
Architecture and Planning
Areas of Expertise (3)
Equality and Inclusion in Sport Venues
Successful Design Consultation With Disabled People
Inclusive Design
Accomplishments (6)
Royal Fine Art Commissioner and Architecture and Design Scotland (professional)
2000-08-31
Public Appointment by Royal Warrant -Advised Scottish Government on major construction proposals and architectural policy in Scotland.
Royal Town Planning Institute (professional)
2010-02-10
Award for inclusive design and planning for authoring and applying the Olympic Delivery Authority Inclusive Design Strategy and Standards
Dame Joan Vickers Cup (professional)
1973-09-02
Best Apprentice in a Royal Dockyard
Woman of the Year (personal)
1997-07-08
Woman of the Year for contributions to equality in the work
National President (personal)
1995-05-15
Institution of Professional Managers and Specialists
Chair of Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (personal)
2004-03-31
Chair of NDPB advising Scottish Goverment on access to Public Transport and associated infrastructure
Education (2)
The Open University: NRAC, Access Consultancy and Inclusive Design
The Open University: NRAC, Maths and Access Consultancy and Inclusive Design
Affiliations (1)
- National Register of Access Consultants
Links (1)
Testimonials (1)
John Hopkins, Project Sponsor | Olympic Delivery Authority
Margaret’s talk was delivered with great humour and common sense, she has promoted a very progressive attitude towards inclusive design, one that I have not experienced before, and one that I and many others touched by the talk will take into the future
Event Appearances (6)
The most accessible Games ever,
Annual Conference of the Sign Design Society Greenwich University,
2012-04-10
Designing for Inclusion,
Associate Parliamentary Limb Loss Group The House of Commons, Westminster, London,
2011-08-16
Why Inclusive Design matters,
Disability Capital Excel Conference Centre,
2011-10-19
Inclusive Design and Construction,
Delivering an Inclusive Games Canary Wharf London,
2012-09-04
Delivering Accessibility,
Accessibility in London London House, City Hall,
2012-08-29
The Business Case for Accessibility and Inclusive Design,
Brazil Business Day Lancaster House, London,
2012-08-10
Sample Talks (1)
Delivering an Inclusive Olympic Park and venues in London
• Olympic and Paralympic Bid Commitments • Legislative Context each country has their own • Access for All (what does this mean?) • Inclusive Design Strategy • Standards ( development and use) • Embedding Paralympic Requirements (how London did it) • Monitoring (design and construction) • Consultation (BEAP and AIF) • Elements of the Park Design (Mecca and Ramadan) • Elements of Venue design • Discussion and Questions
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Corporate Training
Social