By Pynenburg & Collins Architects
Our design for the new CCS Disability Action head office in Wellington was a chance to implement best practice in all aspects of workplace disability support. Our client not only wanted an environment where ‘all people’ could work easily, they were also determined that it would not look ‘accessible’, clinical, or different from any other office place.
We have enhanced usability in a very natural way, so staff and board members with disabilities can easily access and use the offices. Key aspects of usability relating to hearing, vision and mobility impairment start at street level with automatic opening gear fitted to the front doors.
A truly accessible building is not limited to grab rails. For CCS Disability Action, we embedded colour contrast, changes in surface finishes, open spaces, textures, acoustics, adjustable benching, and fire refuge rooms. What looks like a design feature often has a practical application to enable team members to use these offices independently in their day-to-day work. Critical details for various kinds of accessibility make these offices a pleasure to work in.
We are an award-winning New Zealand architectural practice specialising in residential, community, commercial, adaptive reuse, and off-the-grid architecture.
By placing our clients and the building occupants at the heart of everything we do, we get to thoroughly understand their needs and aspirations, project constraints and opportunities.
Critical and creative thinking based on decades of project experience enables us to design spaces and buildings that are durable, space-efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and can adapt over time.