Designing an Accessible Office in Singapore

An office that works for a wheelchair user usually works better for everyone: a visitor with a suitcase, a colleague recovering from a knee operation, a courier with a trolley, an older client. In Singapore, accessibility also has a regulatory side, set out in BCA's Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment.

This article explains what the code means for a commercial fit-out, where offices most often fall short, and the questions clients and junior designers ask us about it.

What the code covers

The Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment sets minimum standards for access to and within buildings, including entrances, routes, doors, ramps, lifts, toilets and signage. New buildings must comply, and the code also applies to many addition and alteration works in existing buildings.

In a typical tenant fit-out, the base building already provides an accessible entrance, lifts and accessible toilets. The fit-out has to keep that access working inside the unit, so a visitor who can reach your front door can also reach reception, the meeting room and the pantry. If the fit-out includes its own toilets, those need careful checking against the code too.

Take specific dimensions from the current edition of the code, and ask your QP to confirm how it applies to your scope.

The entrance

The entrance is where office accessibility fails most often, and it is also the hardest place to fix later. What we check:

• The threshold should be level. Raised floors for cabling are a common cause of steps at office entrances, so if the office has one, plan a ramp or flush transition inside the entrance from the start.
• The door must give the clear width the code requires. Double doors sometimes fail this when only one leaf is normally opened.
• Handles should work with one hand and without tight gripping or twisting, which is why lever handles are preferred over knobs.
• Heavy glass doors with strong closers can be too hard for many people to open. We check the opening force as well as the look.
• Card readers and intercoms should be within reach of someone seated.

Moving through the office

Aisles and corridors need to be wide enough for a wheelchair to pass, with places where it can turn. A 1500mm diameter turning circle is the figure most designers work from. The layouts that fail are usually the busy ones: a pantry squeezed into a corner, a meeting room where chairs fill the space around the table, or a storage wall that narrows a corridor.

Reception counters should have a lowered section so a seated visitor can be seen and served face to face. In meeting rooms, at least some tables should let a wheelchair pull in underneath. In the pantry, think about the height of the counter, the tap and the microwave.

Glass, contrast and wayfinding

Glass walls and doors need visible markings, known as manifestation, so people can see them. People walk into unmarked glass surprisingly often, and it's a real hazard for anyone with low vision. We design the markings as part of the office graphics, often using the client's branding or a pattern taken from the interior.

Colour and tone contrast help people with low vision understand a space. Doors that stand out from the walls around them, floors that contrast with walls and signs with clear lettering all make an office easier to find your way around. None of this costs extra when it is decided early.

Accessibility beyond mobility

Accessibility also covers people with hearing loss and people who find noise and visual clutter hard to work in. Acoustic treatment in meeting rooms helps anyone with a hearing aid, and helps everyone else on video calls. A quiet room gives staff somewhere to step away from the open floor. Lighting without glare or flicker helps people with visual and sensory sensitivities.

BCA's Universal Design Mark scheme recognises projects that go beyond the code's minimum. Its criteria are a useful checklist even for projects that will never apply.

Common questions

The building already has an accessible toilet and lift. Does accessibility still apply to my fit-out?

The building's facilities get people to your front door. Inside the unit, your fit-out should keep that route usable, and any works covered by the code need to comply. Your QP can confirm the requirements for your scope.

We have a raised floor. Do we need a ramp?

If the raised floor creates a level change at the entrance or between areas, there has to be an accessible way across it, and a ramp inside the entrance is the usual answer. Plan it at the start, because a ramp needs floor space and the right gradient and landings.

Is accessible design more expensive?

Mostly not, if it is in the design from the beginning. Wider doors, lever handles, a lowered counter section and good contrast cost little. Retrofitting after handover costs a lot because it means demolition inside a working office.

What markings do glass walls need?

Markings that make the glass clearly visible, at the heights set out in the code. They can be decorative, and many clients use them for branding.

What is the difference between accessible design and universal design?

Accessible design usually means meeting the code's requirements for people with disabilities. Universal design aims for spaces that everyone can use comfortably without special arrangements, whatever their age or ability. Good office design treats the code as the minimum and works toward the universal approach.

In summary

• The base building gets people to your door. Your fit-out keeps the route usable inside.
• At the entrance, level thresholds, clear door widths and doors that are easy to open matter most.
• Leave room for a wheelchair to pass and turn in aisles, pantries and meeting rooms.
• Mark glass clearly and use contrast to make the space easy to read.
• Consider hearing, noise and lighting as well as mobility.

Almost every point here is cheap to draw in and expensive to add after handover. Raising them during space planning, while the client is still deciding what goes where, is the simplest way to get them right.