At MediStays, we believe that accessible accommodation solutions can only be created when designers and architects understand the lived experience of people living with a disability. That’s why we are thrilled to partner with TOM: Melbourne and Monash University’s Industrial Design, Communication Design and Architecture students in a collaboration focused on empathy-building and knowledge sharing. This initiative aims to enhance the short-term accommodation booking and stay experience for NDIS participants, while giving tomorrow’s designers firsthand insights into the challenges faced by people living with a disability.
Sharing Specialised Knowledge
The “TOM @ University” program creates meaningful connections between Need-Knowers (individuals with lived experience of disability) and Makers (students with design and problem-solving skills). This semester, MediStays is taking an active role in educating Monash University students about the nuances and complexities of accessible accommodation.
As specialists in disability accommodation, the MediStays team brings years of expertise in understanding what makes a space truly accessible, comfortable, and dignified for people with various needs. Recent NDIS legislation changes now stipulate that participants who live with informal supports, such as family members, are no longer eligible to have these support people stay with them during short-term accommodation (STA) arrangements. This significant policy shift means many NDIS participants must navigate unfamiliar environments without their usual support networks. By sharing our knowledge of these challenges, we’re helping students understand the real-world implications of policy changes and design decisions.
Creating Empathy Through Personal Stories: Meet David
Understanding that empathy begins with human connection, we invited David, a valued member of our community, to share his story with the students. These personal narratives transform abstract design problems into real human experiences.
David retired from his role in nuclear medicine two years ago, where he managed a team of clinicians and researchers. He lives with facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy that has progressively affected his strength and mobility since his mid-30s.
Through David’s story, students gained insight into how accommodation challenges impact daily life. He described his experiences travelling and the extensive planning required to find suitable places to stay. Students learnt how small design details that might seem insignificant to able-bodied people can create significant barriers for someone with mobility challenges.
“You find ways around your physical weaknesses to complete and enjoy life,” David shared with the students. “Family is a critical support, but accessible design makes a tremendous difference in independence and quality of life.”
These intimate conversations help students develop a deep, emotional understanding of the challenges they’re designing for – something that can’t be taught through textbooks alone.
Experiential Learning at Lanson Place
Knowledge becomes understanding when it’s experienced firsthand. That’s why we organised an immersive visit to Lanson Place Parliament Gardens, where students could explore accessible rooms with a critical and empathetic eye.
During this visit, MediStays and Lanson Place hotel staff members guided students through the nuances of accessible design that aren’t obvious to the untrained eye, pointing out design elements that work well and those that create unexpected barriers. Students experienced the spaces from different perspectives – some tried navigating rooms on crutches, others attempted tasks with sensory sensitivity, and all gained new insights into how design choices impact user experience.
“It’s one thing to read accessibility guidelines, but quite another to try opening a door or using a bathroom when your mobility is restricted,” remarked one student after the experience. “I’ll never look at a hotel room the same way again.”
These hands-on experiences create memorable, emotional connections to design problems that will influence these students’ work for years to come.
Empathy as the Foundation of Design
The knowledge and empathy gained through these experiences form the foundation of the 12-week design process. Rather than starting with theoretical approaches, students begin by understanding the human experience and emotional landscape of their users, then build technical solutions upon this empathetic foundation.
Design schools often focus mainly on established and traditional disciplines such as industrial and communication design. However, in recent years there has been increasing interest in Service Design, which is positioned as the highest order of design (Buchanan,1992). This semester’s Service Design unit at Monash University has attracted an interdisciplinary mix of students from architecture, industrial design, and communication design.
“Partnering with TOM and MediStays has been especially valuable, providing students with the opportunity to work alongside expert stakeholders, tackle real-world challenges, and engage with deeply supportive, industry-based clients. At Monash, design for health, collaborative design and human centered design are core strengths at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), and it has been inspiring to see students do radically innovative and meaningful work in these domains,” says Dr Chetan Shastri, Design lecturer at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA).
The designed outcomes will be published as open source by TOM and are the result of a collaborative effort from a range of stakeholders across TOM, MediStays and Monash University including Dr Chetan Shastri, Dr Giorgia Pisano, Professor Daphne Flynn, Dr Jacqui Alexander and Dr Laura Harper amongst others.
“We hope that the final project outcomes will be useful to the need-knowers and suitable for adoption by MediStays. The designed outcomes will be published as open source by TOM. I would like to acknowledge that the success of this unit would not have been possible without the support of stakeholders across TOM, MediStays and Monash, including Dr Giorgia Pisano, Professor Daphne Flynn, Dr Jacqui Alexander and Dr Laura Harper amongst others,” says Dr Chetan Shastri, Monash University.
Creating Lifelong Advocates for Accessible Design
This collaboration between MediStays, TOM: Melbourne, and Monash University goes beyond creating solutions for today’s challenges – it’s about shaping the mindset of tomorrow’s designers. By sharing our accommodation knowledge and facilitating meaningful empathy-building experiences, we’re helping to create a generation of designers who intuitively consider accessibility in everything they create.
Professor Daphne Flynn, Director of the Design Health Collab at Monash University agrees. “Partnering with MediStays—a leading provider of trusted NDIS accommodation—for the TOM program is a valuable opportunity. At Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), our human-centred design approach addresses complex challenges across the health and wellbeing sectors. Incorporating the TOM program allows our undergraduate students to gain hands-on experience in designing meaningful spaces that support some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”
We eagerly anticipate the students’ final presentations, where they will showcase their innovative service design solutions to all project stakeholders. But perhaps the most valuable outcome won’t be measured in the projects themselves, but in the transformed perspectives of these students who have gained a deep, personal understanding of designing for disabilities.
“The most powerful tool in design isn’t software or materials – it’s empathy,” notes our team. “When designers truly understand the human experience behind accessibility needs, they create solutions that don’t just accommodate disabilities but celebrate human diversity.”
“At TOM: Melbourne, we value our community partners and collaborators, such as MediStays, as we continue to learn and provide diverse perspectives to build a more inclusive society, creating meaningful solutions for real-world projects. TOM @ University empowers participants with disabilities as contributors and innovators, collaborating with students on real-world projects. Feedback from past Need-Knowers, Family Members, and Students beautifully captures this,” says Narelle Hinkley, TOM: Melbourne.
In alignment with TOM: Melbourne’s philosophy, the design solutions developed through this program will be published open-source, ensuring that the broader community can benefit from the students’ work. This approach allows others to implement, replicate, or iterate on the designs in their own communities.
Stay tuned for updates as this exciting project progresses and these students apply their newfound empathy and knowledge to real-world design challenges!
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