Accessing the act

Examines the impact the Disability Discrimination Act is already having on designers of new and altered buildings even though full implementation is still four years away. The Disability Rights Commission has stated that designers should already be considering the application of the act's provisions to new buildings and alterations. This duty also applies to the management and operation of existing buildings. The article discusses what designers need to understand and examines some of the issues such as audits and appraisals, extent of compliance, conflicting NHS advice from the report, "Access to Health Services Premises: Audit Checklist" and some of the issues in applying the standard, in particular to bathrooms, bedrooms and WCs in hotel and short stay accommodation. Concludes that the DDA will offer the opportunity to understand how the built environment can serve the disabled but only time will show if it will create problems and disputes over its compliance.