Copyright Inspire East

“Rather than construct a conventional building Disability Essex wanted to lead the way in sustainable construction amongst voluntary organisations” 

Richard Boyd. Chief Executive, Disability Essex

The Centre for Disability Studies is a Passivhaus, eco building providing 558 square metres of operational headquarters for the charity Disability Essex.  It also functions as the charity’s main training centre providing support focused around assisting disabled people to enter the work place. 

The project budget was £2m.  The building provides office space, a reception area, training rooms, an IT suite and ancillary meeting room space that can be rented out.  One of the special features of the building design is that it has very low energy requirements and the addition of solar panels and a wind turbine on the site in the future will result in the building eventually producing surplus energy to provide an additional income source.

A tremendous level of thought and commitment has gone into the design of the building in order to make it as exceptional as possible in terms of meeting the charity’s and their clients’ needs - many of who are disabled - and in terms of producing a highly sustainable design.

The internal spaces were designed with a particular purpose; to provide what the charity calls “absolute accessibility”.  This reflects the ethos of the charity’s training work which is focused on what clients can achieve, rather than what they can’t achieve due to their disability.  It means that the building was purposely designed to not to impose any limitations on its occupants, such as barriers or obstacles.

The inside is a pleasant, light and airy space with tall open ceilings allowing plenty of natural daylight to penetrate though the building. Wherever possible the floor is an open plan layout to create a sense of openness and inclusiveness for all those using the building.

To view the full Disability Essex Case Study please follow the link

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