The rise of Scandinavian design, Fixer Upper as feminist fantasy, the future of Austin, and more As the year ends, we?ve been looking back on some of our favorite Curbed stories from 2016. Last week, we looked at the best of the West Coast. Below, we present a dozen more longreads, in order of publication, from Curbed.com, covering everything from the rise of Scandinavian design to the legacy of urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs to one writer?s quest to get into New York City?s locked and storied Gramercy Park.

Rey Lopez
Gallaudet?s campus.

How Gallaudet University?s Architects Are Redefining Deaf Space by Amanda Kolson Hurley
Now 10 years old, DeafSpace is an architectural approach that springs from the particular ways Deaf people perceive and inhabit space. It has grown from small workshops?in which participants expressed Deaf sensibilities that were well-known but had never been codified?into the key set of principles shaping new buildings and renovation projects on Gallaudet?s campus, helmed by a cross-disciplinary research institute. The principles have relevance beyond campus. About 3.5 percent of people in the U.S. have experienced significant hearing loss or deafness, but hearing problems are more common, affecting 13 percent of the population, according to the Gallaudet Research Institute. That share is likely to rise as tens of millions of Baby Boomers reach their seventies and eighties. Why should the places designed for them...