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Direct Access

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A photograph of Cheshire Oaks retail outlet on a sunny afternoon. A few cloud dot the otherwise blue sky as shoppers walk along the promenade. To the right of the image are Dune and Clogau stores.
News

Designing inclusive retail and shopping spaces for accessibility

It is no secret that the rise of E-commerce, quickly accelerated by changes in people’s spending habits and the realities of our world economy, has resulted in physical retail spaces suffering losses in both consumer and business interest. However, while shopping for our favourite brands has never been easier for

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A banner with text reading "Accessible Interpretation of Wildlife" alongside two photographs. One shows a bald eagle stood on a wooden pole, the other a duplicate of the eagle as a tactile, white statue.
News

Tactile Objects and Models are the Future of Accessibility

Most disabled people from lived experience understand what segregation and exclusion feels like. But ask the average disabled person what accessibility means to them, you are pretty much guaranteed to get a different answer every time.  To a wheelchair user, it might mean facilities offering automatic doors, wheelchair ramps, and

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A young Caucasian man who is a wheelchair user eats on the terrace of a restaurant with a Caucasian male friend. The friend assists by cutting his food up with a knife and fork.
News

How cafés, pubs and restaurants can better serve disabled patrons

One of our team’s favourite subjects for blogs, (like this one), is using our combined knowledge of accessibility to make recommendations to business owners about how they can become more inclusive to current and (potentially future) disabled customers. Whether that’s by speaking about issues we regularly identify when we do

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A Refuge Point sign on a grey wall with the international symbol of access printed on it next to an emergency two-way intercom within a non-specific building interior. In the background, a floor to ceiling window reveals a church and several houses being battered by the rain on a cloudy day.
News

The Direct Access Guide to Accessible Wayfinding

When we hear the phrase “wayfinding”, what most frequently comes to mind is the application and availability of signage in a particular environment, which is normally used to signify elements of a space that requires visitor attention, or offer directional guidance in complex environments, such as shopping centres, hospitals, museums,

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A public toilet exterior in Shibuya Ward Tokyo. Three green doors with different symbols representing genders and disability are imprinted on each. in front of the restroom, which is a small, rectangular, white building are a variety of thin trees and plants. Text overlayed on the image reads "public restrooms should be accessible to all". A public toilet exterior in Shibuya Ward Tokyo. Three green doors with different symbols representing genders and disability are imprinted on each. in front of the restroom, which is a small, rectangular, white building are a variety of thin trees and plants. Text overlayed on the image reads "public restrooms should be accessible to all".
News

The public restrooms that set the world standard for accessibility

Depending on where you live, the accessibility, frequency, and sanitary quality of local public restrooms wildly vary. In the United Kingdom, it speaks to a specific lack of both care and understanding, that local authorities do not invest in accessible and clean public WCs, where not only are public toilets

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Under the Sea - Terra The Sustainability pavilion
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New academic journal highlights accessibility at Expo 2020 Dubai

A new academic journal released by the Springer Publishing Company this week has detailed feedback by disabled people (or People of Determination) on the accessibility of Expo 2020 Dubai. Expo 2020, which was held in the United Arab Emirates between October 2021 and March 2022, was a client of Direct

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A photograph of the exterior of the Science and Industry museum in Manchester.
News

A guide to curating inclusive exhibitions and museums

When we think about accessibility in the context of most built environments, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is whether wheelchair users can directly access the building via ramps, sufficiently wide doors, and elevators. But accessibility is, as we all know, is much more than mobility

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A modern living room space with artificial plants decorating a space which includes a coffee table and red armchairs.
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How inclusive and accessible design leads to future-proof housing developments

What is Inclusive Design? In construction, inclusive design is a sustainable, inclusive, and cost-effective design practice, yet is also massively underutilised. For firms that do use inclusive design when approaching new builds, it presents an opportunity for site owners to create built environments that are massively beneficial to every individual

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Part of a spacious office with a long aisle and row of desks with business supplies and green plants standing by walls and on workstations.
News

The health, environmental, and social benefits of Biophilic design

Biophilic design (from the Greek, ‘philia’ meaning ‘love of life’) is an environmental design choice which is being adopted by architects and decorators around the world for modern office spaces and desk-based work environments. Office spaces, though largely safe and unassuming compared to workplaces of past centuries still provide potential

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A group photo of the full Direct Access Team beaming smiles at the grand opening of the office. A yellow banner ready to be cut is stretched across the entrance.
News

Direct Access in 2023 – A Year in Review

First, the challenges. Life working at a small business always presents its challenges. In 2023, Direct Access experienced more of these challenges than we possibly have ever felt in our nineteen-year existence. Even as we anticipate celebrating twenty years of Direct Access in 2024, our well-oiled machine providing accessibility expertise

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A mixed group of work colleagues discuss work around an office table. One of them, a male wheelchair user, points to his female colleagues monitor to point something out.
News

How business owners stand to benefit from accessibility and inclusion

When we think of the built environments that make up our society, whether that’s bus stations, libraries, hospitals, supermarkets, or hotels, thought is rarely ever given to the potential of these spaces were they to be rebuilt, readjusted, and made inclusive. Indeed, when we think of accessibility and inclusion in

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Hand of an unrecognizable person dragging a suitcase, wearing on the wrist a lanyard of sunflowers, symbol of people with invisible or hidden disabilities.
News

The difference between disability awareness and understanding

Much is often said about disability awareness, whether it’s businesses and organizations earnestly involving themselves in the various disability awareness days that happen each year, to huge corporations painting an image of inclusivity simply because they offer images of diversity in their branding – it is clear that in today’s

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United Kingdom
Suite GB,
Pepper House,
Market Street,
Nantwich,
Cheshire,
CW5 5DQ.

Ireland
77 Camden Street Lower,
Dublin,
D02 XE80.

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