The Forum

This has so far been my favourite accessible toilet I’ve ever been in! The whole building felt like it had been built with accessibility in mind and so the design of all the toilets, including this one, felt really well thought out. The way you accessed the Changing Places Toilet and the mechanism for the door was quite unique. You had to get a keycard from the information desk to start off. I sometimes get nervous about needing to request access but the staff were incredibly lovely and helpful. The keycard was used on a swipe pad just outside the toilet and then the door slid to the right. Once you entered the door shut automatically and then stayed shut until you pressed the button on the inside. There wasn’t a lock on the door as the only way to get in was with the keycard, and as I had it with me while I was in the toilet it meant that no one else could gain access. I thought this was a really clever way to control the door. The design was a really beautiful blue and pink cherry blossom design. It was really well equipped, really clean, well-maintained, and felt modern and not too clinical.

This was a really large space that appeared really modern. It was mainly built with glass from what I could tell, tall glass walls and a glass roof made it feel really lovely inside as it was so bright from the natural light. There was a really big library here which I loved exploring. It spanned across two floors and also had information desks and a children’s library. The bottom floor had a large staircase with a lift located behind it. There were kiosks where you could borrow and return books. At the back was an area with information desks. To the left was a children’s library and to the right was a large fiction section and an area to speak to staff. Upstairs was a huge selection of books. There was a lot more fiction broken down by genre and then lots of non-fiction. They had sections for large print editions, audiobooks, languages, hobbies, information about loads of topics and even sheet music. There was also lots of seating upstairs. There were some individual desks with computers, some tables where groups could sit and some comfier seats for individual reading. It was an incredible library and I wish it was my local one! The rest of the building had lots going on too. There was a Pizza Express near the entrance, the BBC had some studios here, there was a small art gallery and the accessible toilet facilities were also really impressive.