​The Storyhouse in Chester is the city’s newest public building providing cinema, theatre and library facilities.
We visited the building after it was praised for it’s accessibility by fellow Around the Toilet-eer Sarah Rennie.
Part new build and partially housed in the city’s old Odeon cinema, the £37 million building aspires to be the new cultural centre of the city. Designed by Bennetts Associates working with Ellis Williams Architects, the Storyhouse feels like a space that has already, in its first six months of opening, become a space that belongs to the community.
Upon arrival a large entrance hall welcomes you into the building, two winding staircases and a lift to the left invite you to the upper floors whilst the ‘den’, a children’s library, is immediately to your right.
​
​
The Storyhouse, Chester
​Toilet facilities are available as soon as you enter the building with, women's, accessible, gender neutral and baby changing facilities adjoining the main lobby. A changing places toilet is also located here. The men’s toilets are in the adjoining cafe space where additional women's, accessible, gender neutral and baby changing facilities are also provided. The toilet facilities on the ground floor are well used by building users and passers-by wishing to ‘spend a penny’.
Providing toilet facilities for a range of users is not only practical, it also speaks volumes as to whether spaces are inclusive. The attention to the design of the toilets in Storyhouse is reflective of the inclusivity evident across the building. Gendered, gender neutral, accessible; both left and right-hand transfer, baby changing and changing places toilets are provided. This instantly gives the impression that the building is designed for everyone.
The signage for the toilet facilities at Storyhouse is superior to that in many other public buildings and offers clarity. Toilets are labelled with their facilities for example the accessible toilets clearly state if they are left or right-hand transfer, that they have baby changing facilities and that they are gender neutral spaces.
It is interesting to note that the men's toilets on the ground floor are segregated from the entrance toilet block. It was evident on our visit that the decision to locate these elsewhere causes significant confusion. This is something architects should consider in the design process.
All toilet facilities are available for building users and passers-by to use during the building’s opening hours. Accessible toilets do not require radar keys. However, as with many changing places toilets, the changing places toilet is kept locked; a precautionary measure by the building’s management as some of the equipment in the toilet, namely the hoist, is both expensive and easily damaged if not used correctly. If this piece of equipment is damaged the toilet is unusable by the people it is meant to serve. Signage on the door indicates that the key is available from the café in the adjoining space.
Often clinical in their appearance - white walls with blue grab rails, the Changing Places toilet in Storyhouse offers something a little different and a little more playful; painted stripes on the walls changes the feeling of the space and shows users that effort and thought have gone into the design. This small gesture shows care and attention to user experience. Sarah Renee shared her thoughts on the space in the video below.
It is the attention to detail that makes a building, an understanding of architecture beyond form and function and a consideration of feeling and emotion. This has been done well at Storyhouse.
​
This attention to inclusive design is not solely for the front of house. The back of house facilities promotes inclusivity with gender neutral and accessible toilets (with shower facilities) on each floor.
By being designed for inclusivity, the building is providing a space for a multitude of people and uses. On our visit, we met a gentleman who practices walking in the corridors of the building as part of rehabilitation following a stroke. The corridors non-slip floor surfaces and hand rails make the space ideal for his rehabilitation. The changing places toilet provides additional space for carer assistance and the café offers adequate room to enjoy a coffee and some food after what is more than likely a tough rehab session.
Inclusivity stretches beyond the building's design and into its management; theatre and film screenings offer relaxed sessions where lights are left on and noise can be made by the audience. A space in the lobby indicates where buggies can be left and a map of the building, available from a stand in the lobby, locates the building’s toilet facilities on each floor as well as lifts, stairs and other amenities.
The holistic approach to inclusivity, in both the design and running of the building reflects both the architects and the council’s forward thinking initiative to future proof the building and also sends a strong message that this is a building for all.
