​Good access can make finding, using, and enjoying a building possible for a wider spectrum of people, can enhance the user experience of a building and can reduce risks relating to health and safety.
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Great design that integrates good access can help buildings and spaces bring together the practical, the beautiful and the feeling of welcome to support people’s positive experience of a space.

Examples

Landscaping inclusion

Creating a landscaped sloped access can help to make an entrance accessible for all, while at the same time creating a pleasant public garden space for people to enjoy and move through.

Friends House, Euston, London
Source: Empowering Design Practices

Open and inviting

Inviting free movement around and through a site, and creating moments of delight along the way, helps to make people feel welcome.

Bromley by Bow Centre, London
Source: Empowering Design Practices

Using art to attract and engage

Artistic interventions and installations can help to attract new audiences and make a building feel more welcoming.​ ​

Durning Library, Lambeth
A vibrant installation on the windows of Durning Library is inviting and intriguing, shouting out  ‘we’re here, we’re open, come on in!’.
Source: Empowering Design Practices

Rainham Hall, Havering
The interior spaces of this listed building have been enlivened with art that encourage people of all ages to engage and interact.
Source: Studio Weave © Sophie Schorr-Kon
Studio Weave © Jim Stephenson 

The sensory experience

Playing with colour, light, acoustics and the texture of materials can help to calm, animate or distinguish different spaces and support people who might be sensitive to sensory stimuli to feel more comfortable in a space.

 Maggie’s Centre, Oldham
Source: Jasmin Sohi/dRMM

Take a look at your building

Looking at what’s there
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1. How easy is it to reach your building? How do people travel there?
   
   
2. Does your building feel accessible or welcoming to a variety of different people?  Do you think any people might feel excluded from your building?
   
   
3. How easy is it to move around your building? Are there any physical or sensory barriers that might make it difficult for some people to use the building or to move from one space to another?

Looking to the future
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1. How can changes to the building make it accessible to more people with diverse needs?
   
   
2. Will you need to make physical changes or challenge your established practices in order to break down barriers to welcome more diverse groups and demographics?
   
   
3. How can you sensitively adapt your building to make it more accessible, while respecting the identity and heritage of the building?

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