Who says listed buildings cannot be accessible?

Canopy of Kettner's on Romilly Street in Soho.

The application for planning approval for this large and complex site in Soho, Westminster is now complete and submitted. Withernay Projects worked closely with the design team, led by Soda., to propose a transformation to fifteen Georgian townhouses to create significantly upgraded and much more usable accommodation for Kettner's and Soho House private members' club, and 28 new guest rooms.

Eleven of the buildings on site are Grade II Listed, meaning that any changes to them are subject to Listed Building Consent under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act. This does not mean that the current level of access cannot be improved. In fact if the proposed scheme is completed nearly all of the guest and staff areas within the buildings will be fully accessible. The exceptions are one small room on each of the upper levels of Soho House, and the regular hotel rooms. Five of the 28 guest rooms will be accessible / easily and quickly adaptable to suit the needs of a wheelchair user.

If anyone tries to tell you that older, listed buildings cannot be modified to improve access into and within them, then please put them right and direct them to Withernay Projects! Other examples include Peterborough Cathedral, the Christ Church Spitalfields Crypt and York Theatre Royal.

International Day of People with Disability

Sign at the entrance to Sutton House in Hackney

Did you know that Wednesday December 3rd is the 2014 International Day of People with Disability? While some people may grumble about there being 'A Day' for everything they are a useful way of raising awareness and encouraging understanding of the groups that they represent.

International Day of People with Disability and World Toilet Day (see this post) are two that I particularly support.

The image at the top of this post was chosen firstly because it made me laugh: the world is not yet inclusive enough for disabled people to expect to be to get into a sixteenth century house in the same way that everyone else does. Signs like this usually direct people to an alternative entrance. Secondly the sign is a reminder of the aim of inclusive design; that one day everyone will be supported by their environment without the need for segregation according to ability.

Sutton House is well worth a visit. Unfortunately many parts of the interior involve steps and other obstacles. I wish I'd made a note of exactly how much can be seen without steps. From memory the entrance level with Tudor Oak linenfold panelling, cafe and courtyard are step-free. The cakes and coffee in the cafe are also recommended.

Crypt without walls

The Crypt has not been seen without internal partitions since the 1700s.

Christ Church, Spitalfields, was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1729. The Church itself was extensively refurbished a decade ago and now it's the turn of the Crypt beneath.

The soil breaking ceremony on October 7th was a chance to see the space without internal divisions that divided it for centuries, but more exciting is the anticipation of the completed works, scheduled for spring 2015.

Dow Jones Architects won the commission back in 2008 with a proposal that will provide a fully inclusive, not just accessible, entrance into new multi-use spaces divided with oak walls and doors. The design allows daylight into spaces that can be acoustically and spatially combined or separated to support an even more varied range of uses than prior to the commencement of works.

Rev. Andy Rider and a church warden wield a drill at the soil breaking ceremony.