Shankill Shared Women’s Centre

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Shankill Shared Women’s Centre demonstrates how universal design can be embedded through architectural choices, spatial organisation and atmosphere to create a shared, welcoming and empowering environment for women and families. The building uses architecture to support dignity, confidence and independence in a context where safe and inclusive spaces are essential.

Universal design principles underpin the project from the outset. The building is deliberately approachable, using simple massing and familiar proportions to create an environment that feels welcoming. Entrances are clearly expressed and easily identifiable, reducing uncertainty at the point of arrival and allowing users to enter the building with confidence. 

Internally, the spatial organisation is central to the project’s success. Circulation routes are generous, step-free and intuitively arranged, allowing people to move through the building independently. Spaces are organised around a clear hierarchy, with shared facilities easily accessible and private areas carefully positioned to provide both security and tranquillity.

 Finishes are robust, warm and tactile, with acoustic treatments and lighting carefully controlled to minimise noise and glare, ensuring that spaces remain calm and comfortable for prolonged use. These decisions reflect an understanding that sensory accessibility is integral to universal design, particularly in environments intended to support wellbeing and recovery.

Shankill Shared Women’s Centre goes beyond regulatory compliance, embedding best practice universal design guidance into the fabric and organisation of the building. It demonstrates that inclusive design is not simply about physical access, but about creating environments that people feel entitled to use. In the spirit of Selwyn Goldsmith’s legacy, the project shows how architecture can remove barriers both seen and unseen.