RNIB’s refurbishment of the Grimaldi Building for its new London HQ creates a beacon of accessibility, with sight loss clinics, offices, studios, retail and test spaces.

RNIB, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (the UK's leading sight loss charity) relocated its London Headquarters in 2023. The Grimaldi Building required an extensive retrofit to ensure it was fully accessible and inclusive for RNIB colleagues, 15% of whom are registered blind or partially sighted.

RNIB worked with Buro Happold and Kay Elliot Architects to co-create a refurbishment plan working to a pan-disability and neuro-inclusive user base. Extensive consultation with RNIB colleagues and volunteers highlighted a requirement for specialist lighting for low vision, acoustic treatments and an exemplary wayfinding strategy for ease of navigation.

Externally:
- The car park was reconfigured, adding accessible parking, step free access, handrails to the entrance, and a bike shelter.
- A dog relief area, allowing guide dog owners to spend their dogs on site was added.
- A sensory garden was planted with dog friendly, scented plants and herbs.
Internally:
The building underwent an extensive retrofit, stripping back to brick to create:
- a community publicly accessible floor
- office space with customisable bookable and fixed desks;
- meeting rooms and break out spaces;
- radio and audio books recording studios;
- a serenity space for restoration;
- a multifaith room;
- lounge area for user consultation and testing;
- self-service café and social area.

The innovative lighting system uniquely caters to varying degrees of visual impairment. Lighting is controllable by colleagues at desk level, including brightness and colour temperature and avoids abrupt changes in brightness which can cause disorientation.

The wayfinding strategy utilizes a combination of colour coded floors and a tactile path around the circulation space. In additional to tactile clear signage. Wayfinding Technology includes NaviLens using colourfully coded QR codes providing audio navigation; Aira connecting people to professional visual interpreters for access to visual information and GoodMaps using technology to create three-dimensional indoor audio and vibrational maps.