Jamaican Government Recruits Carleton Accessibility Experts for Gordon House Audit

Ottawa, Ontario – Carleton University accessibility experts are lending a hand to the government of Jamaica in a project to make the country’s legislative building, George William Gordon House, accessible to those with disabilities.

On Feb. 15, Dean Mellway, acting director of Carleton’s READ Initiative, and third-year architecture student Quayce Thomas, will travel to Kingston, Jamaica to meet with government officials, planners and architects. They will be joined by two representatives from Toronto architecture firm Quadrangle.

Over three days, they will conduct an audit of the three-storey building, which was built in 1960.

Jamaica has recently passed a slate of new accessibility laws, and given the progress for people with disabilities, government officials decided it was time to bring their legislative buildings up to the same standards. Carleton was invited to participate by Jamaican Justice Minister, Mark Golding.

Carleton’s goal is to embed learning about accessibility across the university and use its expertise to help solve problems around the world.