Venue Information

Parking

For residential delegates who require one, there are allocated parking bays near the accommodation buildings, next to the residential services office. Delegates will be advised on arrival which building they will be staying in. Those arriving Tuesday will be able to check in at the residential services office who will direct delegates to the most convenient parking bays for their room.  For day or non-residential delegates there are blue badge parking bays in the main car park.  Residential delegates (arriving Wednesday or later) may prefer to park here and move their vehicle closer to the accommodation after registering.

Access from the main car park to the venue is paved and delegates can access the main building via a walkway called ‘The Street’. The campus is compact and largely flat although there is a slight slope between the main building and the restaurant. Curbs have been lowered in appropriate places.

Main building

‘The Street’ leads to the Atrium where the exhibition will be held and off of which the Auditorium and the majority of seminar rooms can be accessed. There are external revolving and accessible automated doors into the Atrium at both ends. There is a ramp from the Atrium to the Auditorium foyer (with handrail), where registration and Wednesday morning check-in will be held. Two sets of double doors lead into the Auditorium on the near and far end of the foyer. There are two wheelchair spaces on each side of the Auditorium, which are approximately a third of the way back from the front. Further wheelchair spaces can be made available at the back of the Auditorium if needed – these would be accessed via a wheelchair lift from the rear of the foyer. A hearing loop is installed in the Auditorium. (If this is required, please indicate on the booking form under the disability requirements so we can make arrangements as appropriate). Speakers can access the stage at the back via a ramp which runs along the side of the stage area.

The majority of seminar rooms are located in ‘R’ building on the ground floor. These rooms lead off the same corridor which is accessed through two sets of double doors from the Atrium. These doors are not automatic and are hinged in one direction.  Each seminar room also has its own wide single door.  Lecterns, if used, are of a fixed height.

Workshop rooms are on the first floor of the ‘N’ building. Two lifts (one either side of the ‘N’ building) are available for use. One set of double doors then leads to the corridor with access to the rooms. Hearing loops are also installed in these rooms.

Accessible toilets are available on each floor.

Restaurant/Bar

This is housed in a building adjacent to the main building and the accommodation buildings. Manual exterior doors (next to the swimming pool) open on to the self service restaurant and seating area. There is a second (manual) door on the side of the building facing the accommodation. Tables and chairs in the restaurant are free/moveable.
The conference dinner will be held in the Restaurant and a bar will be set up there on the night.

A ground floor bar is also available for use in ‘Club de Havilland’. Access to this part of the building is again through a wide but manual external door and double doors to each room. In both cases the bar is a standard/high bar and there is no lowered area.

The entertainment after the conference dinner will be held in the Comet room which is accessed through the Club de Havilland as described above.  The Launches on Wednesday and Thursday evening are also in the Comet Room.

Accommodation

There are two accessible rooms in each of the accommodation buildings. There are no adjoining rooms; however, rooms are grouped together in ‘flats’ of 6 (up to 1 accessible room per flat). Some but not all of the accessible rooms have push button automated doors to both the flat and the room – if this is a requirement please contact us (swapenquiries@soton.ac.uk) and we will advise on availability.

Statement from the venue about the accessible rooms

The accessible rooms are designed to accommodate delegates with various special needs. The layout is larger than the standard rooms and they have been adapted in several ways.

The bathroom is designed large enough to accommodate a wheel chair. The door slides open and there is a small slope into the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, there is a shower area with an optional seat, toilet, with optional support and a sink. The bathroom has been fitted with several handlebars, low-level shower taps, and an alarm system should it be required.

In the bedroom area, there has also been an alarm fitted along side the bed. There is also a light above the bed, which the delegate can access easily.

All de Havilland rooms have a fridge, including accessible rooms. In the standard rooms the fridge is situated under the desk. In accessible rooms they have been placed on a shelf next to the wardrobe so that they are on a more accessible level.