Eva Branscome
A spotlight on Bartlett Disability Role Model, Eva Branscome.
I am Professor of Architecture and Cultural Heritage. I teach architectural history and theory across many programmes and am passionate about my role in helping students to develop their own understanding about architecture. I also love to write and tell stories about the city and its architecture through my research. Knowing how to question the agency of our built environment is key to empowering students to respond creatively as designers.
How do you like to spend your spare time?
I love cooking in the evenings and sharing time over the dinner table. After winter subsides, I spend my early mornings in our small urban garden thinking about which plants grow best and why. The snails have been a real challenge, and I finally discovered that they stay away if I water the garden with garlic tea. They don’t seem to appreciate the flavour as much as people at my table.
When opportunity allows, I enjoy travelling and learning more about the built environment elsewhere. Then I can also enjoy the cooking and gardening of others.
Can you describe your disability and how it impacts your daily life?
I am dyslexic. For me, this manifests primarily in that my reading speed is far slower than that of others. At school, I struggled to finish exams on time. The disability was not acknowledged by the educational system back then, which I remember as extremely upsetting. Thankfully, it did not put me off. I now recognise that reading just takes me longer to do. As a researcher and writer, I am highly productive and don’t mind spending more time on reading the source material. In fact, I think I derive more from what I am reading precisely BECAUSE it takes me more time.
How has your relationship with your disability evolved over time?
As a teenager which was when this disability became more evident, I was very confused about why I seemed slower than others in my class. My parents and teachers were frustrated with me. I appeared to not be ‘performing’. Yet over the years, as I have settled into giving myself more time to read, I feel that I have turned this ‘weakness’ not just into a difference but also possibly a real advantage, in an odd sort of way.
What principle(s) or motto do you absolutely live by?
‘The most effective way to do it, is to do it’ [Amelia Earhart].
Are there any resources or initiatives you’d recommend to other disabled students or staff?
If you are able I would recommend reading from print rather than from a screen. I find it far more relaxing, and it doesn’t register as stressful.
If you could influence one change in the way universities support disabled staff and/ or students, what would it be?
The Bartlett School of Architecture did away with written exams many years ago. Our students write essays, which they can do in their own time and spaces. Today and with concerns over AI cheating, the easiest thing to do would be to just bring back the written exams. But this should never be done.
What role do you think allies (non-disabled colleagues) should play in creating a more inclusive workplace?
When putting together syllabus reading lists, we all need to make sure that the texts we assign for their essential preparation are manageable timewise for those that need more time. All other sources and longer sections can still be included in an additional reading list that is not obligatory.