Press release for 1 City Many People

From Steve Lowe, thinkofthefuture.com @ Seedgen Ltd.

Inclusive Design goes on display at City Hall

A new exhibition launches at City Hall on Monday 28 June as part of the London Festival of Architecture. 1 City Many People shows how inclusive design makes buildings and places more accessible. It echoes the theme of this year’s festival, which is ‘London: a welcoming city’. To be truly welcoming, a city also has to be accessible.

The exhibition is situated in the Lobby Gallery, a prime position around the debating chamber of London’s government.

‘We felt we had to contribute to this,’ said Kevin Davis, Chief Executive of the Centre for Accessible Environments, a registered charity that promotes inclusive design. ‘As the belt-tightening begins, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase the relevance of what we do. Good inclusive design is not necessarily expensive, yet it delivers so much to so many people. This is a great opportunity to remind London’s policy-makers that, in striving to drive down public expenditures, they need to focus on value rather than price. Public buildings and spaces need to be conceived and designed to be as accessible as possible. This is particularly important now as, in addition to serving an ageing population, London will be serving the needs of up to one hundred thousand additional wheelchair users in 2012 over the course of the Olympic Games.’

The exhibition starts with several case studies of how inclusive design has been incorporated into some of London’s older buildings, such as Saint Paul’s Cathedral, before looking at some present day buildings and then to the future. It finishes with a quote from David Morris, who had been involved with the project prior to his tragic death in April:

‘The river walk is a great pedestrian thoroughfare and enhanced access will leave a legacy for generations’

David had been on the staff of the London Organising committee of the Olympic Games. He was tasked with encouraging London’s boroughs to improve the accessibility of public spaces outside of the Olympic Park. He was particularly keen to see access improvements along the Thames Path and around Tower Bridge.

Steve Lowe of thinkofthefuture.com, curator of the exhibition said, ‘The quote seemed a fitting and poignant conclusion to a project in which David’s input had such a profound impact.’

1 City Many People is free, open to the general public and runs until 22 July 2010. A supporting website at www.betteraccess.org will be launched in time for the exhibition and then continue to promote inclusive design after it has ended.