Corey Recognized as a KBDN Top Innovator of 2022
Updated February 16, 2024
Key Points:
Corey Klassen, CMKBD NCIDQ recognized as one of KBDN’s Top Innovator of 2022
Accessible design involves designing spaces in consideration of the 5 primary variables of reduced physical, cognitive, visual, auditory and olfactory abilities,
The impact of the Kitchen & Bath Planning Guidelines with Support Spaces & Accessibility, 4th ed. is a significant shift in how designers plan spaces.
Inclusive design involves expanding the principals of Universal Design to make a space fully accessible to as humans as possible
For Immediate Release
Vancouver (BC) - Articulated Design Studio is thrilled to congratulate Corey Klassen, CMKBD NCIDQ for international recognition as a 2022 Top Innovator by Kitchen And Bath Design News Magazine (KBDN).
Out of the 24 design innovators recognised, Corey is the sole Canadian singled our for their design excellence and advocacy in their role as both a subject matter expert, peer reviewer, and content coordinator of the Kitchen And Bath Planning Guidelines - with Support Spaces and Accessibility, 4th. ed. published by the National Kitchen And Bath Association (NKBA) in 2022. This industry leading publication is written by leading kitchen and bath interior designers of the NKBA for the interior design communities of both Canada and the United States. It furthers the NKBA’s goals of education and industry knowledge for kitchens and baths by expanding in other segments of the industry that are of value.
Accessible design guidelines, inclusive design principals and inclusive terminology are the reasons for the recognition on this design industry publication.
Each of KBDN’s 2022 Innovators is honoured in their own right for their contributions to the kitchen and bath industry at large, by independent nomination of their qualified peers in the interior design community of both Canada and the USA.
Meaningful impacts in the designed environment
Why is this significant?
For Corey, their shift toward accessible design came from a deeply personal experience. In 2018, while recovering from an emergency surgery 8 months prior, Corey suffered a sports injury to their left knee. When challenged by mobility, simple tasks like shifting a manual transmission, stepping up onto an accessible bus, or standing and washing dishes become incredibly painful. It took much therapy, pain medications, more help from orthopedic surgeons, pain management and recovery specialists, and a lot of personal will and determination to overcome the physical and mental fatigue. Corey realized that homes, where we spend over 50% of our day, need to be designed better for everyone.
For an individual with varied and reduced physical, cognitive, visual, auditory and olfactory abilities, fully accessible spaces can determine independence and have a significant impact on quality of life—and it’s so easy to avoid.
If that went over your head, here’s a breakdown of each ability:
Physical ability. The ability to maneuver, or move around, within a space. This may be standing, ambulatory, use of mobility aids such as crutches, canes and walkers, and the use of a wheelchair - motorized or manual.
Cognitive ability. The ability to process, or think about, information within a space. This may be various types of emotional and mental challenges that a user may face navigating an environment.
Visual ability. The ability to see and define spaces. This may be reduced vision, corrective lenses, macular degeneration and more.
Auditory ability. The ability to hear sounds and noise in a space. This maybe hard of hearing, deaf, or other ear related diseases and conditions.
Olfactory ability. The ability to smell and taste. This may be a heightened sensitivity, reduced taste, or the absence of.
These variables are not only limited to residential dwellings, they affect the entire built environment. These accessible design guidelines in the 4th edition were intended be used for both residential accessible bathrooms as well as accessible commercial bathrooms, not to mention kitchens and other types of accessible support spaces (like hallways, laundry rooms, and entryways. Meaning all public and private spaces in commercial design as well, in addition to architectural design and landscape design.
What is the impact of this shift?
It was the tireless work of Judith A. Neary, CMKBD (recognized by KBDN in 2021 as Top Innovator) and Corey as subject matter experts, who went on to become the Content Coordinators for the new guidelines. This was a role with which both she and Corey were aligned, as they wanted the material to be valuable to as many industry stakeholders as possible. The industry has changed significantly with regards to technology, but the zoning requirements of municipal, state, provincial, and federal levels of government are quite fragmented with regards to accessibility. Some large urban centres have accessible zoning requirements for both commercial and multifamily residential projects, but many regions still unfortunately do not.
The new fourth edition of the NKBA Kitchen and Bath Planning Guidelines provides realistic and thoughtful recommendations for interior designers based across Canada and the U.S. that have vast differences in building code regulations and guidelines. Particularly in the U.S., where accessibility in commercial is legislated through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and accessibility in residential is the piecemeal result of many legislative state and federal requirements, these guidelines are a significant change. In contrast, across Canada, accessibility is a right protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the federal government has passed the Accessibility Act mandating that provincial building codes incorporate accessibility instead of separating it.
Inclusive Design Principals; The Missing Piece!
The 4th edition is a major update by leading interior design subject matter experts of the NKBA membership for the international design industry. It furthers the education outreach of the association and expands upon the NKBA’s advocacy of Universal Design to be inclusive. As a Canadian subject matter expert in kitchen design with accessible case studies in both kitchen and bath design, Corey expanded the scope of the 4th edition by advocating for inclusive terminology to be a part of the professional industry publication. This led to having inclusive design principals added to make the accessible design guidelines apply to as many groups that have been historically marginalised by the built environment in North America.
These historically marginalized groups include: woman in later stages of pregnancy, parents with small children, different sizes of humans, people with hearing disabilities, the visually impaired, people who do not speak english, physically challenged, as well as gender. This is a significant percentage of our populations that can have significant challenges in public spaces as well as private spaces. Universal design is a discussion that includes some of these groups, yet the 9 subject matter experts chose to expand upon the professional material available to the architectural design industry and the interior design industry, and provide concrete accessible design guidelines that are inclusive. They saw through the dialogue of Inclusive Design VS Universal Design to revise and create new guidelines that put accessibility and inclusion at the heart of the interior design publication. They include:
Guidelines for inclusive commercial bathroom design for the building codes of both Canada and the United States.
Guidelines for accessible commercial bathroom design for the building codes of both Canada and the United States.
Inclusive Design Terminology
Guildelines for gender inclusive bathrooms and gender inclusive signage
The guidelines of the 4th edition are also in both metric and imperial, the systems of measurements in both Canada and the USA.
Who was involved?
In addition to the support of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, a total of 9 kitchen and bath design Subject Matter Experts more than doubled the size of the guidelines and expanded its’ potential as both a digital and print resource. They met in-person and virtually across Canada & the USA for two years with most of the work being completed during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. It was a “covid project” that bore fruit, showing what happens when designers have the opportunity to cross pollinate and collaborate with each other. The 9 SME’s are:
Chris Dreith, CMKBD (also recognized as a 2022 Top Innovator)
Adam Gibson, CMKBD (also recognized as a 2022 Top Innovator)
Judith A. Nearly, CMKBD (recognized as a 2021 Top Innovator)
Mary Jo Peterson, CMKBD CAPS CLIPP (a dynamic writer, educator, and universal design advocate)
Learning is a life-long journey
Corey is a lifelong learner. As the Creative Director and founder at Articulated, he is also a well-respected interior design educator, professional speaker, and ongoing contributor to the design industry. Corey recently became an NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer in addition to holding the title of Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer (CMKBD). Corey has taught and developed interior design curriculum at Vancouver Community College, the Visual College of Art and Design in Vancouver, and Lasalle College in Vancouver. He is an Instructor with the NKBA and has customized continuing education courses for designer brands such as BLANCO and DXV by American Standard. Speaking at trade shows like The BC Home Show, KBIS, IDS Toronto, IDS Vancouver, and the NKBA’s Chapters across Canada and the USA.
Judith & Corey have both been captured together on LuAnn Nigara’s popular podcast A Well Designed Business. Here is a link to a podcast you might appreciate Episode 206: The Most Important Tips For A Successful Interior Design Business. I have also collected links to all 12 of them together on this updated post from 2019 when Corey spoke at one of Lu’s First Live Events.
Corey’s inclusive advocacy is more than words in a spiral bound volume, it now includes public speaking to interior designers at industry events upon the topic of Inclusive Design Principals in both Canada and the United States. To provide an open dialogue or forum for designers to educate each other and design better residential and commercial spaces. In September 2023 Corey inaugurated the topic of inclusive design at IDS Vancouver, and we are looking forward hearing them inaugurate Identifying Inclusive Design in the United States at KBIS 2024 in Las Vegas. In a nutshell, Corey has been an innovator for a while in many ways (contributing to the NKBA Professional Resource Library in 2025) and it is rewarding to see the industry recognition.
“Then there was the total revamping of our certification program. I would like to give a shout out to two of our long time collaborators: Corey Klassen CMKBD of Articulated Design Studio and Judith Neary CMKBD of Roadside Attractions. Thank you both for your help and guidance with our new program which features a learning management system that makes it easier to access materials, as well as track your progress online. Our certifications as well as our growing badge program are even more valuable as a competitive tool in today’s market.” Bill Darcy, CEO, National Kitchen + Bath Association, January 31, 2023
3 Questions for Corey
How do the guidelines play out in your design practice ?
The development of guidelines provided much food for thought. How we advocate for our design environment to be accessible in both commercial and residential projects is complex. In Vancouver, B.C., we are ahead of many regions across North America with accessible mandates that have been made a part of our provincial, territorial, and municipal building code requirements. So, as a design studio, we have more experience working with accessible design than most interior designers in other regions. This is why I made my first successful accessible design projects publicly available case studies to inspire good (accessible) design work across North America. What took me a LONG time to figure out on my own back in 2013 now has been made much easier to provide long term solutions and value.
2. Does this mean you will be doing more commercial and accessible design work?
Yes and no, but allow me to explain this in three parts:
The practice of interior design is like stand up comedy where the rule is “yes, and! ” It all depends on the projects and if we have the opportunity to design and meet the client’s design requirements. Many people still confuse interior designers for decorators, and that is a part of what we do at Articulated, it is really much larger than that. I believe accreditation and education rounds out my skills as a professional. It has given me the opportunity to work with new build residential design, renovation design of both detached house as well as condos, and even the commercial design of a medical office with visual accessible needs.
I do want to be doing more commercial design work and support other small businesses in B.C. by connecting their brand vision with their users and the physical environment. Accessible spaces are a requirement of many commercial and some residential building codes, and I have no problems in assisting in the design of a universal bathroom, renovating a large commercial bathroom to be fully accessible, or designing an accessible office space. I am open to a range of commercial projects.
We do specialise in accessible design for residential clients, and I appreciate this type of connection with a client and their physical needs. In fact our client intake questionnaire always starts with a list of body measurements and mobility questions. I value working on a project where I can provide a design solution that will have long term value. The best part is that I can do the work effectively as an online design or hybrid design project depending on the location of the client. Our detailed construction drawings provide a qualified experienced contractor what they need to order and implement. You can check out one of my first case studies for accessible design that inspired my work on the guidelines Accessible Design: The Principal Bathroom.
3. What is next for you?
My focus is to enjoy the business I started over 12 years ago. We have rebranded it into a new concept to serve clients in both our home region as well as other parts of Canada. The advancements in technology and communication allow us to work anywhere with clients who have different needs for our professional services. I continue to look for different parts of the industry where I can have a place to contribute. Sometimes that gives me the opportunity to work with the NKBA again like on the educational programs I am currently working on with them. Other times it can be a residential client or a CEU to develop. This type of work is quite unique to each client, and I like challenges that keep my brain engaged. But for now, I think I will enjoy having my name in print on the guidelines because I truly believe that they have a lasting value for what design can be.