The OpeMed Guide for Architects
The OpeMed Best Practice Guide for Specialist Architect Projects – Saving architects time and questions, with a guide giving explanations to issues often asked during specialist projects.
Projects for residential properties such as care homes, hospitals and long term care facilities, involving the installation of disability equipment, can be fraught with unnecessary complications and time delays if they aren’t planned and designed correctly from the start.
OpeMed MD, Nick Kent has been working alongside architects for over 20 years’ providing guidance on disability equipment installation and regulations. More and more he sees the need to be involved right at the beginning of these specialist projects – at the planning stages – to offer this support and advice to architects which will not only result in saving time but also help to draw up the correct plans first off.
To understand what architects require and would find useful when considering a project that involves specialist equipment, we recently sent out a survey to over 300 architects. The feedback received was invaluable and gave us an insight into how we can better support architects during these projects.
Interestingly, the results showed that over 70% of architects have struggled with planning the installation of the specialist equipment to fit with other construction work and said they would value advice on ceiling structures and door headers, when tracking is required from room to room.
The results highlighted that for architects, ensuring disability equipment provides optimum accessibility and ease of use is the main objective for specialist projects. I was also surprised to find that 100% of respondents found it difficult to understand the user requirements during their specialist projects in the past and would find a guide for these projects incredibly valuable.
Therefore, we have put together an architect’s guide for specialist projects that gives advice and information on every aspect from the planning stages through to design and delivery. It includes information on understanding user requirements, the best room layouts, through to advice on the products available.
OpeMed have covered the questions we are regularly asked, which can save architects time from the very start.
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