Jim Harrison qualified as a UK Registered Architect in 1970 and has practised in England, Zambia and Malawi on a range of projects from new-town housing to low cost educational buildings. He has taught design in different schools of architecture, including Portsmouth and the National University of Singapore, where he was in the School of Architecture for 18 Years, latterly as Associate Professor. In 2004 he moved to Queen’s University Belfast and then in 2007 to the newly established Cork Centre for Architectural Education in Ireland, where he now teaches design, with particular reference to the integration of technology into design project work and the establishment of a craft-based workshop within the school. In addition he continues to research in areas of design for ageing and accessibility in the built environment with continued contact with research networks and individuals in that field.
He has long experience of teaching and presentations on aspects of user-friendly design in a wide variety of venues throughout Asia and Europe, including a number of significant UN ESCAP workshops and other initiatives, working with professionals, politicians and local disability groups in the region.

As a member of the committee on the revision of the Singapore Access Code he contributed a section on the needs of older people, and amongst his many publications on barrier-free environments are chapters in the definitive “Universal Design Handbook”, and “Universal Design: 17 Ways of Thinking and Teaching”, with more than 50 conference papers and journal articles in this field, a collection of which were successfully presented with a Preface for a Higher Doctorate (LittD) from his alma mater, the University of Sheffield in 2004.

Currently he is involved in developing integrating the teaching of universal design into the architectural curriculum, and is also supervising PhD students including a cutting-edge research topic, studying applications of embedded sensors to create responsive built environments for impaired residents in care home settings.

As well as a love of architecture and design, Jim’s other interests include travel, both at home and abroad, keeping sketchbooks of places and buildings of interest, traditional buildings, VW camper vans and Morgan three-wheeled cars.

Environments and design for older people and people with disability:
 
Inclusive / Universal Design, s – aspects of access and safety, assistive technology and mobility for special need

Housing forms for ageing-in-place and independent living

Perceptions of barriers in the built environment and abilities of older people

Design of user-friendly environments for people with dementia

Networked Embedded Systems in salutogenic environments for older people

Design and Architecture, with particular reference to:

Integration of technology into strategic design and detail for buildings.

Design with climate, including tropical architecture.

User-friendly Design for  built environments, Inclusive/Universal Design approaches.

Traditional Buildings and settlements, conservation and sustainability.