“Architecture & Access is our go-to expert consultant to review accessibility compliance and advise on Safety in Design obligations.”

Services for architects and designers

Architecture & Access understands the critical role of architects and designers in relation to:

Meeting obligations to provide accessible premises
Safety in Design
Compliance with building control legislation.

We can assist architects and designers, including landscape and interior designers, to ensure new developments and building upgrades comply with regulations, are safe and accessible for people with disability.

We cover a wide range of building types including workplaces, transport hubs, residential and commercial developments, major infrastructure sites such as defence facilities, and public facilities including schools, aged care facilities, hospitals and leisure centres, parks and event venues.

Services include:

Access consulting
Reviewing existing plans
Advising on compliance with current standards
Designing solutions to meet accessibility requirements
Reviewing alternative solutions for existing buildings where compliance with current disability requirements is difficult to achieve and where alternative, equitable, dignified and safe access is proposed.

OHS consulting specialising in Safety in Design implementation in line with the Work Heath and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and Regulations and state-based OHS laws.
Project management of the design and delivery of projects with specialist access requirements including ramps, sanitary facilities, changing rooms, lifts and community facilities.
Livable housing design advice and certification against LHA design guidelines

Safety and accessibility one-stop shop

Architecture and Access offers a unique service model where we draw from our extensive in-house skill-sets to meet individual project needs. This is convenient, flexible and cost-effective for architects and designers managing safety and accessibility requirements.

Our personnel specialise in the field of accessibility in a range of professions including access consulting, work health & safety, project management, architecture, home modification, landscape design, interior design, and occupational therapy.

Safety in Design

Under the work health & safety laws, architects and designers have a duty to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that the structure to be designed is without risk at any time that it is to be used as a workplace.

This can be achieved through a systematic risk assessment process of testing, analysis and consultation. The designer must also produce a safety report for the person commissioning the design regarding the specific hazards relating to the design of the structure.

Architects and designers must also ensure that the structure be designed to eliminate or minimise the need for any hazardous manual task to be carried out and give information to each person who is provided with the design about any features that eliminate the need for these tasks.

Our consultants assist architects and designers to prepare risk reports covering accepted design risks, mitigation solutions and operational controls, which include a risk rating update.

We devise methodology and recommendations to ensure the building or structure remains a safe environment through the life cycle of the building.

Our Safety in Design services include:

Independent facilitation of Safety in Design process
Risk management
Review of proposed design and documentation
Facilitation of risk review workshops and formulation Safety in Design Risk Register
Stakeholder consultation

Design for the safety of workers during construction
Design for safe servicing and maintenance of the building
Design for safe demolition of the building
Monitoring and auditing
Safe design reports.

More about Safety in Design.

Meeting your obligations under anti-discrimination laws

Architecture & Access ensures the requirements of access and universal design are incorporated into proposed developments.

Involving us early in a project – particularly where a number of design options are being explored – assists in producing the most cost-effective design in collaboration with the project architect and other service consultants.

More about access consulting.

What you can expect from Architecture & Access

When you engage with Architecture & Access you can expect:

Up-to-date knowledge of laws and obligations
Multi-disciplinary team of accessibility and OHS specialists
Trusted professional advice
Collaborative, solution-focused approach
Cost-sensitive, achievable solutions
In-depth knowledge of the access needs of people with disability
Best practice in the field.