The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) celebrated their 60^th anniversary last week and in doing so launched the fourth edition of their ‘Best Practice Access Guidelines’. These guidelines set the standard for accessibility in Ireland across many different sectors. For architects, they are a very useful tool that we frequently refer to, alongside other accessibility regulations such as TGD M and Buildings for Everyone. Local man, Dr. Oliver Murphy is a founding member of the IWA and talking at the launch of the guidelines, he speaks about the importance of accessibility in our urban environments and buildings. Oliver is a local legend (and former client of our office), untiring in his dedication to improving the lives of those in our community with disabilities. He is an uncle of Adrian’s wife, Eimear and is always willing to provide his thoughts on designing for accessibility.

Earlier this year we completed a new building for Prosper Meath; a town centre facility which provides services for adults with intellectual disabilities. Universal access was the key objective of the brief and the guidelines were a great resource to draw upon for this.

We would like to wish the IWA a happy birthday and best wishes for the future as they continue to support and improve the quality of life for people in Ireland with disabilities. In our approach to design as a practice, we strive to deliver their vision of better built environments for everyone.

To download the guidelines just click on the link below.

https://www.iwa.ie/access-guid...

Here is a YouTube webinar of the launch of the guidelines.