2.1.9 Completion inspection on accessibility
Evaluating how safe, how comfortable and how user-friendly is a continuous process throughout various stages. An inspection should be carried out near completion to test the accessibility of the whole travel chain. This inspection should not be treated the same as other normal site inspections because usually the building inspection will start after the architect arrives inside the premises. The external works are normally left to the last to finish. However, two small steps right at the boundary of the lot at the main access or at the vehicle drop-off point would declare the building totally inaccessible, no matter how accessible it is inside the building.

The essence is to carry through the concept to ensure all building works within the boundary are accessible.

2.2 Legislation and Standards
2.2.1 Legislation
The statutory requirements on disabled access have been in force since 1984 and subsequently the requirements have been revised to provide barrier-free access to buildings in 1997. The Disability Discrimination Ordinance has come into operation in 1996.

Other than these two Ordinances, there are also a number of other Ordinances with requirements specific for certain types of premises to cater for the need of specific groups of users, such as the requirements for wheelchair access in the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance.

All these statutory requirements intend to safeguard and ensure that the design of buildings will achieve a minimal level of accessibility enabling persons with disability, the elderly, pregnant women, children, and indeed a broad spectrum of the community to have greater independence and comfort in using the building.Apart from the statutory requirements, there are also a number of reference standards providing guidelines on how to achieve the required or even higher standards of accessibility. These include:-

• The Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 1997;
• The relevant Practice Note for Authorized Persons and Registered Structural Engineers;
• The Code of Practice on various aspects related to the Disability Discrimination Ordinance issued by the Equal Opportunity Commission; and
• A vast amount of national and international standards available in China and overseas countries.

The local standards should be adopted in all Government buildings as far as practicable while the national and international standards can provide supplementary guidance in many of the areas not covered by the local standards.

In 2003, a consultancy study to “Draft a Design Manual on Barrier Free Access and Facilities for Persons with a Disability and for the Elderly” was commissioned by the Buildings Department. The draft revised Manual will be issued for consultation in the later half of 2004.

Legislations in Hong Kong will be keeping closer in pace with the rest of the world. The statutory requirements on accessibility will only become more comprehensive and demanding for architects’ design abilities. Direct and literal application of the requirements into the design without inspiration would only create unsatisfactory solutions. It is time to adopt a positive approach and to take the requirements as a challenge for innovative design by applying the universal design approach. Once the human accessibility factor is put back in the right and foremost place in the formulation of a design, a truly sustainable development may be achieved.