24 Jun 2014
New buildings should incorporate inclusive design that takes into account how disabled people use them, it has been claimed.
British Institute for Facilities Management (BIFM) chief executive Gareth Tancrad urged facilities managers to consider how buildings are designed and laid out for disabled people.
Speaking at the Facilities Show in London, he said that that the Health & Safety at Work Act was now “second nature” to most after coming into force 40 years ago and that incorporating access into design would soon be too.
Fellow speaker Julie Fleck OBE, who works with the Office for Disability Issues, said that everyone should have a basic understanding of how disabled people experience buildings.
She said education should be used as a catalyst for change, and that it was not about just funding improvements.
Mr Tancred is on the board of the Built Environment Professional Education (BEPE) organisation, which was formed as part of the 10-year legacy plan after the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
BEPE is backed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyores, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Copyright Press Association 2014