George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
Building a more accessible George Brown Polytechnic
George Brown Polytechnic is committed to creating campuses that are welcoming, inclusive, and accessible for all members of our community. As part of that commitment, the Facilities and Sustainability team, in collaboration with the Office of Anti Racism, Equity and Human Rights Services, has developed the Facilities Accessibility Design Standards (FADS).
GBP’s Facilities Accessibility Design Standards (FADS) incorporate legislated accessibility requirements, best practices, and universal design principles to advance an equitable, inclusive, and intersectional built environment across all campuses.
The FADS is a comprehensive standards document that guides the planning, design, build, and ongoing improvement of George Brown spaces. It supports compliance with the Ontario Building Code, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), including the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR). The standards also go beyond minimum requirements, establishing George Brown specific best practices that reflect the needs of a diverse postsecondary community.
The development of the FADS is a key deliverable under George Brown’s Multi Year Accessibility Plan (MYAP), reinforcing the institution’s commitment to advancing accessibility in a coordinated and accountable way.
Download the Facilities Accessibility Design Standards
For further information or questions related to the document, please contact Campus Planning at campusplanning@georgebrown.ca.
Why FADS matter
Accessible spaces improve the experience of our campuses for everyone. The FADS helps George Brown create environments that are easier to navigate, more equitable to use, and better equipped to support the full range of activities that take place across the college.
By applying these standards consistently, George Brown can:
- Reduce barriers in the built environment
- Support equitable access to learning, work, and services
- Improve the usability of spaces for students, employees, and visitors
- Strengthen accountability in the planning, design, and delivery of projects
- Reinforce the institution’s leadership in accessibility within Ontario’s post-secondary sector
Supporting our commitment to accessibility
The FADS reflects George Brown’s commitment to advancing an equitable and inclusive campus environment through an intersectional lens, recognizing that barriers can be experienced differently across identities, abilities, and lived experiences.
The standards are already being applied across capital projects and space improvements, including the design of service counters, shared hybrid workspaces, and learning environments.
In 2025, George Brown completed an accessibility audit of approximately 2.2 million square feet of space at the polytechnic. This work is helping identify and prioritize opportunities to improve the built environment in alignment with the FADS.
Looking Ahead
George Brown will continue to use the FADS to guide future improvements across its campuses. This includes:
- Developing a multi-year roadmap informed by audit findings
- Integrating FADS requirements into procurement processes, including vendor and consultant attestation
- Advancing updated wayfinding and signage standards
- Expanding accessible service features
Through this work, George Brown is taking a proactive and institution wide approach to accessibility, ensuring that the design of our spaces supports the needs of our community today and into the future.
George Brown Polytechnic extends its sincere thanks to the many members of our community who contributed to the development of the Facilities Accessibility Design Standards. Through stakeholder engagement sessions, participants generously shared their insights and lived experiences, helping to shape a more inclusive and responsive approach to the design of our built environments. Your contributions have been essential in advancing a campus that better supports all who learn, work, and visit GBP.