Singapore

WHEN Singapore-based architecture firm Woha decided in 2012 to employ Richard Kuppusamy, a wheelchair-bound Singaporean architect who had worked and studied in the UK for the past 16 years, it was clear that their five-storey shophouse office on Hong Kong Street had to be modified to accommodate his special needs.

Granted S$82,000 from the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Accessibility Fund, Woha added ramp thresholds, purchased an emergency evacuation chair, and even replaced their stairs with Flex Step - a stair lift that transforms from being a staircase to a flat platform with a push of a button.