As we challenge ourselves to be creative in designing places for customers with a range of requirements, two members of our development team reflect on how we are working with partners to make inclusive places to work, shop, live and play. By thinking differently, we are unlocking the power of physical and digital innovations to change lives.

Nick Phillips: As a developer, we are in a unique position to improve the daily lives of people with diverse needs through inclusive design. When we ran the numbers at 2 Finsbury Avenue, our latest office-led development at Broadgate, 900 of the 7,000 people set to work in the building are likely to have conditions affecting their lives and work. So, we’re talking about making daily life easier for a lot of people, with potentially significant impacts on their wellbeing and productivity.

Maria Averkina: Designing spaces that are adaptable and friendly to everyone also helps occupiers in our buildings attract the best talent. By creating places where people feel comfortable and happy to collaborate, we can change things for the better – empowering our customers and their employees to perform to their best.

Changing perspectives

Maria: Working on 3 Sheldon Square, an office refurbishment at Paddington Central, I went on a journey with our accessibility consultant from the Business Disability Forum. Step by step, we looked at the experience for different people. Is the entrance clear and free of barriers? What are the acoustic conditions in the reception area? How do you call the lift? Is it easy to see where to go when you reach the office space? Are the bathrooms well signed and accessible?

I thought about this meeting for days afterwards. It completely changed my perspective. Before, I’d look at a reception from an aesthetic point of view. Now, I wonder what are the acoustics like? Can people in wheelchairs use the same entrance and reception desk as everyone else? From conversations with others in the sector, it’s clear that this is a wider problem and a shift in attitudes is needed. It led to me joining enaBLe, British Land’s disability awareness employee network.

Nick: I had a similar experience listening to a talk our enaBLe network arranged with someone affected by hearing loss. They spoke about their day, all the little things that are easy for those without hearing conditions to totally overlook. They call the lift and start checking something on their phone, which means they don’t hear the lift ding, so miss it. They spend hours trying to lip read people in dimly lit settings and meeting rooms where they can’t see everyone’s faces. This all drains their energy and affects their quality of life. It was striking how much could be fixed through better design decisions.

I'm proud that British Land has committed to the Valuable 500 global movement for disability inclusion – one of only a handful of developers. Instead of focusing on compliance to Building Regulations, we’re striving to go the extra mile on accessibility and achieve something special. We won’t get everything right, but we’re aspiring to do better and encouraging others in the sector to do more too.

Challenging our design partners

Nick: To create outstanding places, it’s essential our design partners give accessibility experts a greater voice. So, we’ve started hosting workshops bringing together our architects, engineers and accessibility consultants and challenging our design teams to go beyond compliance to achieve the best outcomes. We’re seeing a lot of enthusiasm and a willingness to do things differently.

Maria: It’s also clear that prioritising inclusivity is a relatively new area for some consultants, where they don’t have much experience. For the moment, we need to keep emphasising that accessibility is a priority for us and, where we see barriers, asking our partners to look at alternatives. For example, revolving doors are often not inclusive. So, can we make sliding doors work without negative impact on the building’s climate and energy consumption, and, if not, could there be any creative alternative solutions?

Nick: Often there’s a balance to be struck with other British Land priorities like sustainability. Take the sliding doors example; at busy times, these tend to be open for longer than revolving doors, which increases energy demand for heating and cooling. By shifting mindsets and questioning the status quo, we hope to uncover new approaches to benefit people at our places.

Physical and digital placemaking

Nick: Alongside physical improvements, smart technology has massive potential to transform accessibility. It can open opportunities for people to customise lighting, acoustic conditions, digital screens and other infrastructure for their specific needs. We’re already incorporating smart features for wellbeing and sustainability into our developments, so we’re well positioned to build on this.

Maria: It’s about understanding too. That’s why we provide awareness training for all our centre management and security teams, so they’re equipped with the insights and skills to help diverse customers at our places. We can all do more to be understanding of other people’s needs.

Nick: In recent years, the importance of sustainable design has shot up the agenda. Accessibility should follow a similar pathway, not just within British Land, but across our entire sector. Decisions taken at the design stage are long lasting – with building lifespans of around 60 years – so the consequences of those choices impact generations. Inclusive design is the right thing to do, full stop.

CGI of 3 Sheldon Square, Paddington Central. Image credit © Morris+Company.