Celebrating Marc Harrison: Pioneer in Universal Design and His ILZRO House

A sledding accident at 11 left Marc Harrison in a monthslong coma and needing to learn to talk and walk again. It taught him to think differently. These early insights permeated a pioneering career about what design could do. Marc taught for 40 years at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) while maintaining an active product design practice. Marc was convinced that designs that worked for people at the edges worked better for everyone. Among a wide range of consumer and public service projects, he reinvented the Cuisinart. A food processor that worked for people with arthritis or low vision became a coveted kitchen tool for a generation. In the early ’70s, he collaborated with his students and the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) to create a house of prefabricated components that could be combined with a minimum of tools. Zinc ensured that it was soundproof, fireproof, bugproof, thermally efficient and never needed to be painted. He designed in features that anticipated difference in ability that could be seamlessly accommodated. Marc and his family lived in the house until 1978. Marc’s daughter, Natasha, and her husband, Ben Randall, have completely restored the ILZRO House. This global webcast will feature a video visit to the ILZRO House and a live interview with Natasha Harrison. ILZRO House PDF: https://humancentereddesign.org/media...