Access

Marseille, April 2025.

Built in the 1960s, this hospital is located on the edge of town, very close to a motorway. Although you can catch a few buses to get there, the most common means of transport is by car, which is why there is a giant 5-storey car park, operated by a private company. In this cube of concrete and metal, it’s not easy to find your way around, hence the multitude of signs hanging from the low ceilings.
Once in front of the lift, the way is clearly displayed with white letters on a pink background. And yet this was not enough for every user. A helping hand used a grease pencil to trace a repetition of the letters on the rough concrete, but adding the floor ‘5’ represented in a similar way to a lift push-button. At a time when accessibility has become an essential component of public infrastructure and services, it is always possible to do better, even if it means leaving it up to users to complete the series of markings.