I attended the fourth Inclusive Environment Briefing hosted by the Construction Industry Council in London. The event was chaired by Tony Burton, Partner at Gardiner and Theobald and CIC's Inclusive Environment Champion.
The CIC has published an Essential Principles Guide for Clients, Developers and Contractors. The guide is free and can be downloaded from the CIC page - essential-principles-guide-for-clients-developers-and-contractors
Navigating the Accessibility Maze
The first speaker was Stuart Croucher of Mott McDonald and his presentation covered 3 major themes of;
1. Arrival and Parking
2. Vertical Circulation
3. Horizontal Circulation
Interesting discussions included Blue Badge parking, external seating, wayfinding signage for wheelchair access, shared space schemes (which is still a contentious subject!) and new technology platforms for blind and partially sighted people.
'Urban design is all about context'
What is an Inclusive Environment?
The final speaker was Ellie Thomas who is the Lead Advisor for the Design Council. We learnt from Ellie that the Design Council will soon be launching a free online CPD training course in Inclusive Design. Follow this link to find out more - designcouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/built-environment/inclusive-environments
The Inclusive Home
I met a lovely architect at the CIC Briefing called Vaila Morrison who publishes a very inspiring blog called The Inclusive Home. You can read Vaila's blog by following this link - theinclusivehome.co.uk