Access To and Through Buildings

Solutions for architectural limitations  

NCC 2019 Volume One

Area of NCC Requirements:

•  Access for People with Disability
• Safe Movement and Circulation
• Relevant NCC Performance Requirements for Access & Egress
  

The Challenge

The proposed commercial development includes three key compliance departures from the Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS) provisions of the NCC. These include insufficient latch-side clearances for two doors, grabrail encroachment into the circulation space of an accessible toilet, and a ramp landing that is undersized at a 90-degree turn. These non-compliances challenge the building's ability to meet required accessibility and safety standards, potentially impacting users with mobility limitations and risking non-approval unless adequately justified through performance-based compliance methods.

What This Really Means

The NCC’s DTS provisions provide clear, prescriptive rules for accessibility, but they are not the only pathway to compliance. Where strict dimensional compliance is impractical, the NCC allows performance-based solutions—provided the design can be shown to deliver equivalent outcomes in terms of usability, safety, and dignity for occupants.

The key question becomes not whether a space exactly matches a diagram, but whether it still functions as intended for the people who rely on it.

The Solution 

A performance-based approach was adopted to assess whether the proposed design achieved the intent of the NCC’s accessibility requirements.

The assessment considered:

• How users interact with doors, fixtures, and circulation spaces in real-world conditions
• Whether reduced clearances or minor encroachments materially affected usability
• How body dimensions, reach ranges, and movement patterns influence functional access
• Whether the proposed layouts still allowed safe and dignified movement for people using mobility aids
• How the design compared to the outcomes achieved by DTS-compliant arrangements

Rather than relying on prescriptive dimensions alone, the assessment focused on how the spaces perform for occupants and whether the overall experience remains safe, practical, and inclusive.

Why This Matters

The final report confirmed that the design satisfied the relevant NCC performance requirements through acceptable assessment methods, including expert judgement and comparison with DTS outcomes. The building was shown to provide access and usability outcomes equivalent to those intended by the prescriptive provisions.

This project demonstrates how performance solutions can resolve practical design constraints without undermining accessibility objectives. For commercial developments, it reinforces that thoughtful, evidence-based assessment can maintain compliance while avoiding unnecessary redesign or loss of functionality.

Struggling with accessibility constraints in your project?

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