New Accessibility Certifications
Universal accessibility stands as an essential dimension of an inclusive architecture, committed to the full participation of all in collective life. It is in this spirit that architects Audrey Bilodeau and Stéphanie Girardeau have earned the RHFAC professional designation (Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™). Notably, they were part of the very first cohort of the Canadian training program offered in French leading to this credential.
Established by the Rick Hansen Foundation—a Canadian organization founded in 1988 by Paralympic athlete and advocate Rick Hansen, whose mission is to improve the physical accessibility of the built environment in order to create an inclusive world where people with disabilities can live to their full potential—the RHFAC program offers a rigorous methodology for assessing building accessibility, grounded in the principles of universal design. It evaluates how readily people with various disabilities (mobility, vision, hearing) can enter a building, move through it, and make use of its spaces and services. Accredited professionals are qualified to assess buildings against this standard and provide recommendations toward achieving one of two certification levels: Certified or Gold.
This expertise is a valuable asset in the design of projects accessible to all, whether in the fields of healthcare, transportation, education, culture, or research. In these environments, where users with widely varying needs cross paths every day, designing spaces where everyone can move about with ease and dignity is a responsibility at the very heart of the firm's mission.
These new designations add to the range of credentials already held by members of the team, spanning a broad spectrum of sustainable and innovative practices: LEED, WELL, Envision, buildingSMART International Professional Certification (focused on openBIM), and Certified Passive House Designer, among others.
The firm extends its warmest congratulations to Audrey and Stéphanie, as well as to all of its professionals whose ongoing pursuit of expertise contributes to advancing architectural practice toward built environments that are ever more sustainable, inclusive, and meaningful to the communities they serve.