Jos Boys facts for kids

Jos Boys is an amazing person who works as an activist, educator, artist, and writer. She first trained in architecture. She helped start a group called Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative. This group wrote a book in 1984 called Making Space: Women and the Man-Made Environment.

Since 2008, Jos has been a co-director of The DisOrdinary Architecture Project. She works with disabled artist Zoe Partington on this project. It's a platform led by disabled people. They work with disabled artists to find new ways to think about disability in how buildings are designed and used.

Jos has written important books like Doing Disability Differently (2014) and Disability, Space, Architecture: A Reader (2017). These books are very important in the field of disability and design. People say her reader is a "brilliant gathering of texts" that should be taught everywhere. She also helped edit a book called Neurodivergence and Architecture.

She has given many talks around the world at places like The Bartlett UCL, the Design Museum London, and Yale University. Jos has also been a visiting professor at universities like Ulster and London Metropolitan. She was even named one of the BBC’s Women of the Year in 2021!

What Jos Boys Does

Jos Boys is currently the co-director of The DisOrdinary Architecture Project. This project helps explore how disability can inspire new ideas in architecture. Before this, she worked at The Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment, University College London. There, she was in charge of a master's degree program about learning environments.

For over 10 years, she worked as a consultant and researcher. She wrote a lot about how teaching, university policies, and building design all connect. She has also taught architecture and related subjects in many places, both in the UK and internationally. Jos is very interested in understanding how people use spaces every day. She wants to improve built environments for everyone, especially those who are often overlooked. Her work focuses on how different people can work together to make better places.

Her Education and Early Work

Jos Boys studied at the Bartlett School UCL. She earned master's degrees in Advanced Architectural Studies (UCL 1981) and Photography (De Montfort University 2003). In 2001, she earned her PhD from the University of Reading. Her PhD looked at how housing design, materials, and daily life connected in England from 1830 to 1980.

She first trained as a journalist for Building Design magazine. She also worked at the Greater London Council (GLC). There, she wrote guides about women and planning. She also worked at the Women's Design Service. She was a development worker there with Vron Ware, Sue Cavanagh, and Wendy Davis.

Throughout her life, Jos Boys has been part of many feminist groups. These include Cutting Edge, a research group about new design technologies. She also helped create an exhibition about Matrix at the Barbican. It was called How We Live Now: reimagining spaces with Matrix feminist design collective (May – December 2021). She also leads the creation of an open online archive for Matrix.

This archive has been shown in many exhibitions around the world. These include "Found Cities Lost Objects" and "Chronos: health, access and intimacy."

Exciting Projects

Jos Boys has worked on many interesting projects. Here are a few examples:

• Many More Parts than M! (2024): This project is creating a guide with new ideas, stories, art, and architectural details. It aims to help people think creatively about design for disability and inclusion.
• Seats at the Table (2023): This project created temporary art installations in a London park. It was a winning project for the London Festival of Architecture. It explored how public spaces can be more welcoming.
• Festival Pavilions for Theaterformen Disability Arts Festival (2022 and 2023): Jos co-designed temporary buildings for this festival. These were based on DeafSpace ideas. She worked with Deaf architects and artists to create spaces like The Clearing and Making Waves.
• Matrix Open Feminist Architecture Archive (MOFAA) (2020– ): This is an online learning resource. It collects information from the 1980s about how bodies, spaces, and architecture are connected.
• Architecture Beyond Sight (ABS) (2018 - ): This project helps blind and visually impaired people learn about architecture. It's a course co-designed by The DisOrdinary Architecture Project and The Bartlett UCL.
• Disabled Artists Making Dis/Ordinary Spaces (DAMD/OS) (2017–19): This project brought disabled artists together with design teachers. They worked on innovative ideas across 10 architecture and design courses in England.
• A Sense of Place (2007): This project created audio descriptions of buildings for blind and visually impaired people. It was part of RIBA Architecture Week and the London Festival of Architecture.

Professional Groups

Jos Boys is part of several professional groups and networks:

• Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative
• She is a member of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advocate Network at the University of Westminster School of Architecture and Cities (since 2022).
• She was a Delphi Expert for a study on "The Future of Learning Design" (2021–2022).
• She held a Visiting Professorship in Diversity and Creativity at London Metropolitan University (2017–2020).
• She was a Visiting Professorship in Learning Landscapes at the University of Ulster (2016–2019).
• She was a member of the International Advisory Board on Learning Spaces at the University of Calgary (2016–2018).