Project Overview

Studmarc was tasked with designing and installing a fully compliant directional guidance route from the entrance of a Corporate Office in London, to their lifts. This was required to aid both visually impaired staff members and visitors in their navigation of the foyer to the main desk, as well as to the lifts past a security gate.

The applied guidance was that of the Network Rail Design Guide for it’s compact form, (using only one tile laterally), as well as it’s more intuitive way of indicating when an action needs to be performed to progress on the route. There are two directional components to this form of guidance and they include the directional guidance pattern as well as an inline blister pattern.

The direction and layout of the route itself was chosen based a site survey that mapped out the least trafficked route with the shortest distance to the lifts, utilising the buildings walls as a visual cue where possible. The route has two destinations with the main route heading straight to the lifts via a security gate with a secondary destination at the main help desk. This secondary destination is vital as it serves as a touchpoint for visually impaired visitors to check in or ask for assistance during their visit.

Product Solutions

The tactile indicators chosen for this project were the 380mm SR1 316L Stainless Steel Strip in combination with the ST 316L Stainless Steel Tactile Stud. 

The chosen method of fitment for the tactile guidance strips was 3M self-adhesive as the business managers didn’t want to run the risk of cracking the porcelain tile flooring with an alternate installation.

Installation

To ensure exacting conformity to the patterns and guidance, our install team used installation templates in combination with laser measures. The installation itself was done outside of business hours to ensure there was no disruption.