Access

In terms of the built environment, the term ‘access’ refers to the means or ability to approach and/or enter a place, site, etc. For example, a door provides access to a building or room, a staircase provides access to an upper or lower floor.

Forms of access may include; doors, escalators, lifts, stairs, ramps, and so on.

Developers, designers and owners of buildings have a responsibility to ensure that the built environment is accessible to everyone wherever it is practical to do so. This forms an important part of inclusive design. The government has defined inclusive design as '…a process that ensures that all buildings, places and spaces can be easily and comfortably accessed and used by everyone.' This means that buildings must be designed to be as accessible as possible to older people, people with disabilities, and so on.

Access in terms of the Building Safety Act 2022 and in particular Regulation 4 (7) of the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023. Is described in the UK Gov Guidance "Criteria for determining whether a building is a higher-risk building during the occupation phase of the new higher-risk regime" as being defined as meaning "a doorway, archway or similar opening. Access which is only used in an emergency or for maintenance is not included. For example, a doorway between two buildings used regularly by residents counts as access, while an emergency exit between two buildings does not. If an exit is used both as an emergency exit and for regular access (for example, a front entrance used for both purposes), it counts as access. Under the Regulations the definition of access is limited to the doorway or opening, it does not include corridors, walkways or atriums.

Part M of the Buildings Regulations, Access to and Use of Buildings, sets out minimum access requirements for works to existing buildings and the development of new buildings.

Access consultants can provide professional advice on how to develop inclusive environments. An access audit is a form of inspection that can be used to assess the ease of access to, and ease of use of; an environment (such as a building or landscape), a service, or a facility, by people with a range of access impairments.

Access control is the selective restriction of access to a particular place, building, room, resource or installation. Authorised access might be controlled using doors, gates, turnstiles, secure installations such as barriers, bollards, and so on.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations require the prevention of access to construction sites by unauthorised persons. Perimeter hoarding or security fencing generally creates the primary boundary for controlling access to dangerous construction sites.

Some building components are designed to enable easy access for maintenance and repair of services and parts, such as a raised floor or suspended ceiling.

NB The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 defines access in relation to reserved matters as: ‘…the accessibility to and within the site, for vehicles, cycles and pedestrians in terms of the positioning and treatment of access and circulation routes and how these fit into the surrounding access network…’

Shaping neighbourhoods, Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment, Supplementary planning guidance, published by the Mayor of London in October 2014, defines access as: ‘…the methods by which people with a range of needs (such as disabled people, people with children, people whose first language is not English) find out about and use services and information. For disabled people, access in London means the freedom to participate in the economy, in how London is planned, in the social and cultural life of the community.’

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Accessibility in the built environment.
• Access and inclusion in the built environment: policy and guidance.
• Access audit.
• Access consultant.
• Access deck.
• Access point.
• Access to construction sites.
• Approved Document M.
• Balance for Better: Why lack of diversity is an issue for everyone.
• CCTV.
• Equality Act.
• Essential principles, Creating an accessible and inclusive environment.
• Inclusive design.
• Keeping commercial premises safe during extreme times.
• Perimeter security.
• Preventing unauthorised access to construction sites.
• RIBA approved CPD for crime prevention through design.
• Security.