“We were standing in front of our accommodation in Lisbon at midnight, shortly after our plane had landed. We were facing 4 huge steps towering in front of us – even though we had been in correspondence with our host for 2 weeks, confirming every detail of accessibility... And the stone cold fact hit me that we were never going to make it in there...The situation was awkward and rather desperate...
That was the moment I decided to create Access4You.”
(Balázs Berecz, wheelchair user, founder)
CPI Hungary is determined to ensure the right to equal access to its own buildings for everyone. That is also the reason why it is the first to support the initiative of Access4You, where the company audits premises from the viewpoint of people with special needs (SPI), proposes improvements when necessary, rates the result of the audit and provides a European certification for qualifying buildings. It regards wheelchair users, people with physical disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women and people with baby carriages, deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, blind and partially-sighted persons and people living with cognitive impairment as people with special needs.
“Today, ensuring freedom of movement for people with disabilities when they are using our buildings is not only a matter of courtesy but it is our obligation, as almost 15 per cent of the Hungarian population has some kind of special need. That means that we have to pay special attention to the aspects of accessibility, and we must design and operate buildings that meet the criteria of accessibility. In the light of this, we are going to upgrade our existing buildings in line with the professional recommendations regarding accessibility,” said Mátyás Gereben, manager of CPI Hungary.
CPI Hungary involves most of its real estate in the certification process, comprising of approximately 295 thousand square metres of office and commercial portfolio.
In the upcoming weeks, CPI Hungary’s five existing office buildings and its newest Balance Hall – conscious building design will be subject to Access4You’s assessment process, as well as Campona and Pólus shopping centres that are also part of the Group.
Access4You considers human dignity and freedom as its fundamental values; it believes that people with special needs deserve the same quality of life as everyone else, in their own condition. It sees special needs not as something to divide us, but as a goal to be integrated.