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- Inclusive Design Pilot Project 1: SCORE, London
Inclusive Design Pilot Project 1: SCORE, London
English Partnerships recognises the importance of creating environments that all people can use and encouraging user participation in the design process. The potential of Inclusive Design in working towards these goals is seen by English Partnerships to be a way forward.
The SCORE Project is a £9.9m community, sport and healthcare project within the Thames Gateway in Leyton, East London. English Partnerships inherited an obligation to deliver the project in its role as residuary body to the former Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust. The project is a best practice "model facility" for sustainable communities. Work started on site during November 2003 with practical completion of the main community building in March 2005. The project’s large sports court was completed in July 2005.
SCORE’s design was already well established when English Partnerships inherited the project. Existing best practice suggested that to maximise inclusive design principles an Inclusive Design Champion (IDC) should be brought into a project at the earliest opportunity. This pilot set out to establish if there were any benefits in appointing an IDC at a later stage of the development process. With work already on site, an IDC was appointed, with a commitment to see the project through to successful completion.
It was agreed that the key IDC influencing areas would be: an access statement that all parties "buy in" to; input to the design process throughout the construction period to ensure that the access integrity is not breached; and a building manual for the community owners explaining why access decisions were made and how any special fittings or fixtures should be maintained.
Tom Lister of Burro Happold’s Disability Design Consultancy agreed to work with the delivery team and was appointed as the independent SCORE IDC for this project.
Tom Lister’s remit also included supporting the integration of measures to meet the needs of the widest range of people into the SCORE facility. This included individuals with sensory and cognitive impairments, wheelchair users and people with walking difficulties. Tom reviewed the scheme regularly during the development process and advised the delivery team on the specification of finishes and fixtures, as well as items such as the lift design.
The management and maintenance of a building can be as important as its design in ensuring it is accessible. For this reason Tom will be producing an Access Statement for the SCORE project which documents the accessible physical features of the facility alongside management policies and procedures for the building.
Buro Happold normally provides an input to projects from an early stage in the design in order to ensure the most effective and accessible design solutions. The late introduction of an IDC into the SCORE project brought new challenges and opportunities, as Tom explains, “We were brought in late in the design programme but it is obvious that the designers had already considered many of the key access issues for the project. However, as Access Consultants there are still plenty of areas that we can influence which will make buildings more accessible for everyone.
"There are many detailed issues such as the choice of colour, lighting, signage and door ironmongery which can still be influenced. These details can make a big difference to how easy the building is to use for many disabled people."
The main community centre opened for business in March 2005, shortly followed by the sports court. During the immediate project completion evaluation a productive workshop with the development team was arranged to establish key lessons learned. The contributors all felt that the role of the IDC was important, but all agreed that an earlier involvement would have been more helpful (thus confirming the current best practice principles). Notwithstanding this comment there were key areas where the IDC was able to influence the final finish and functionality of the building.
For example, the IDC negotiated with the local building control officers a more practical interpretation of Part M of the current Building Regulations. This resulted in better door access specifications that would assist all users (including the very young and the frail), as opposed to standards that were historically driven by wheelchair access requirements.
The IDC was also able to act as intermediary between the architect, the construction company and the end users, acting as independent arbiter where there were minor misinterpretations or anomalies. The key example noted during this pilot was where the front entrance steps’ architectural detail was unclear. The practical solution adopted by the contractor was functional, but not inclusive. The development team worked closely with the IDC to produce agreed cost-effective alterations that significantly improved inclusive access without compromising the design integrity of the frontage.
During the fitting-out stage of all major projects subtle changes to the final design are often required to facilitate the sitting of sanitary fittings, equipment and other such components. In most cases the sub-contractors fitting doors and sanitary fittings are strong, able bodied and unfamiliar with the mobility issues that the IDC seeks to eliminate. At times the fastest and most straightforward fixing solution may compromise inclusive design principles.
Before handover the SCORE IDC provided a useful "reality check" on the building to ensure the key inclusive design principles relating to "comfort" remained uncompromised. Adjustments were made to several sanitary fittings to improve all-ability usage and one set of WC doors re-hung to provide easier access for parents accompanied with children.
In conclusion, although becoming involved at a later stage than was ideal, the IDC helped to ensure that the SCORE architect’s inclusive design principles remained uncompromised. Subtle improvements implemented at the suggestion of the IDC have undoubtedly improved the comfortable use of the building for all users.
An Inclusive Design Guidance Note is also available to download:
© English Partnerships 2003-2008