Designing accessible buildings
A lot of people assume that creating fully accessible buildings is a difficult task. Earlier this year we asked Lambeth Accord who are in the process of redeveloping, how they are planning to achieve this.
I asked Sheila Kelly a Trustee of Lambeth Accord and the architect involved, to tell us the story of Lambeth Accord's journey to become a beacon of accessibility and create a holistic creative environment.
About Lambeth Accord
Lambeth Accord (LA) was set up in 1983 and is a disability charity and a Social Firm, which is a type of social enterprise. It runs 336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA a community resource centre, which acts as a ‘hub' for a thriving and diverse disability community in Lambeth, South London and London. LA supports and promotes the interests of disabled people primarily through the use of its building in Brixton and provides accessible office accommodation to sixteen disability charities. It also provides additional services through use of its conference and training centre, storage and facilities management and support with bookkeeping. LA supports established and newly emerging disability organisations.
336 Brixton Road is the charity's main resource and an iconic 1960s building in need of refurbishment. The aim is to establish 336 Brixton Road as the ‘disability hub' in Lambeth and London wide. A competition was launched with the Royal Institute of Architects (RIBA) at the end of 2008 to find architects with vision to oversee and develop plans for its refurbishment.
A leading young architectural practice Henley Halebrown Rorrison Architects won the RIBA competition against stiff competition. We received expressions of interest from over 100 architectural practices representing an impressive mix of larger and smaller practices. Henley Halebrown Rorrison demonstrated the vision and understanding that the trustees were looking for.
Lambeth Accord aims to create an accessible centre of excellence and resources for disabled people and the local community. We aim to be a leading exemplar of good practice in:
• building accessibility and accessibility matters
• sustainability
• resources of excellence for disabled people and the local community.
Our plans to create this vision has been shaped through continued consultation with businesses and service users using the building. We plan to work with Action for Access to find out more disabled people's views and ideas on accessible internal design features.
The project has been developing for three years. In Summer 2010 a detailed planning application was made to Lambeth Council.
Now we have heard the vision behind the redevelopment, its time to find out more about the designs that will make it happen.
Q + A with Simon Henley, Director of Henley Halebrown Rorrison Architects.
Qu 1. Did you find this project with such a focus on accessibility different from others? If so in what way?
Yes and no, working in housing and a wide range of public buildings including healthcare, education and the arts we are very aware of access issues. However, our work with Lambeth ACCORD has highlighted that the building regulations oblige designers to work to minimum standards. Not to improve on these. Compare this to environmental performance in buildings where clients and their architects aspire to improve on these standards. Our work at Lambeth ACCORD has no doubt heightened our awareness of the issue and led us to develop a barrier free environment which engages all the senses.
Qu. 2 What do you think is the most important aspect of creating accessible design?
Dimension - a generosity of space is crucial. The environment should be practical, barrier free and a pleasure to inhabit or visit.
Qu. 3 What piece of advice would you give to other services wanting to improve their access through redevelopment?
There is a tendency, understandably, to focus on the ergonomic. The challenge is to create environments that are not just practical but beautiful and pleasurable also.
Qu. 4 What were the challenges with the design if any?
Lambeth ACCORD's building was constructed in the 1960s when access was not a consideration. The greatest challenge it presents is on the approach (and with escape). No floor is level with the site. The upper ground floor foyer and conference rooms are more than 2 metres above street level. In future the approach will be much easier to use and really quite dramatic.
Qu. 5 Do you see any of the accessible design features becoming standard design for new buildings in the future?
Design is largely visual and ergonomic. Our work at Lambeth ACCORD points to a shift towards a multi-sensory architecture where the senses - touch (texture & conductivity), sound, smell and taste - all play a part in the character of an environment or the quality of a component such as a door handle. The designer mustn't just concentrate on the interior. Outside, landscapes, plant life, insects and native bird and animal species bring with them much activity and life to those who inhabit a building.
Qu. 6 In the planning stages where did you get your most useful advice on accessibility issues?
The technical documents we have been referring to are BS8300_2009 and Approved Document Part M. Equally valuable have been our ongoing discussions with Lambeth ACCORD and a number of the charities based as 336 Brixton Road with their own day to day experience of accessibility as a source of advice and information.
To view the current designs for Lambeth Accord follow this link for Henley Halebrown Rorrison Architects website were you can find the plans in full.
For further details about the project or to donate please contact:
Adrian Harris Manager, Lambeth Accord, 336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA Tel: 020 8274 2299
Email: