DAY 1 • TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER • 14.10 – 14.35
Best practice presentation: Designing for inclusion in practice: lessons from the Grimaldi Building
A real-world case study of the Grimaldi Building — home to RNIB and a beacon for accessibility.
This session explores how truly inclusive design principles have been “baked in” and applied in practice, examining how accessibility, neurodiversity, and sensory considerations were embedded into the design process, informed by both professional expertise and lived experience.
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The role of lived experience in shaping accessible and neuroinclusive environments
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Key design features supporting navigation, comfort, and usability
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Lessons learned from delivering an accessibility-led project in practice
Mary Noble, NRAC Consultant and Manager of the Built Environment, RNIB Enterprises
Mary Noble
Mary Noble is Manager of the Built Environment at RNIB and an NRAC-accredited Access Consultant with over 40 years’ experience working with people with disabilities.
She leads RNIB’s built environment consultancy, advising clients across the public and private sectors on how to design and deliver places that are inclusive, usable and commercially effective.
Mary is a member of the British Standards committee for accessible and inclusive environments, contributing to key guidance including BS 8300 and played a foundational role in the development of the National Register of Access Consultants.
Her work spans strategy, audits and design advice with a strong focus on embedding accessibility and inclusive design principles from the outset of projects.
She brings a practical, real-world perspective to her work and is particularly interested in how environments can better support neuroinclusion and sensory needs, combining professional expertise with lived experience as a parent of neurodiverse twins.