Dr. Joel Sanders

Biography

Joel Sanders, FAIA, is the founder principal of JSA/MIXdesign, an inclusive architectural design studio committed to making everyday building types such as restrooms and university campuses accessible and welcoming to people of all ages, genders, abilities, cultural identities, and religions. His firm has developed initiatives like Stalled!, an award-winning project addressing the national controversies surrounding transgender access to public restrooms, and MIXmuseum, which provides toolkit strategies for museums to cater to diverse audiences. Sanders holds a dual appointment as Professor of Practice at Yale School of Architecture and as a Professor at Yale School of Public Health, where he teaches courses examining the intersection of architecture, inclusivity, and health. His publications explore the complex relationships between culture and social space, investigating how evolving cultural forces affect the designed environment. His work has been featured in significant exhibitions and is part of prestigious collections including those of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Joel has received honorary recognition including a doctorate from Aalto University and the Lawrence Israel Prize from the Fashion Institute of Technology, in addition to several AIA Design Awards.

Research Interests

Experience