The background to our work

A brief history of The Dog Rose Trust

The Dog Rose Trust was founded in 1995 by an architect, Peter Howell, and an architectural historian, Julia Ionides. Its mission is to research and develop means of improving access, interpretation and understanding of the environment - rural and urban, natural and built - with a special emphasis on architecture and art, and particularly for those with visual impairments.

The Dog Rose Trust has four Trustees, all of whom are experienced in the field of access and disability. The Trustees advise on the overall policy of the Trust, while consultancy work and management is carried out by the administrator and a team of expert consultants.

We all believe it is important to work towards making every public building or environment, and the facilities within it, as accessible as possible. Together with visually impaired and blind colleagues, the Trust advises on schemes to make them suitable for the needs of all perceptually impaired persons. You can see some of our colleagues on this website.

The Trust has been involved in the development of a number of pathfinding integrated communications' technologies, including 'Acoustic Fingerprint Guides' for many of the UK's cathedrals, and Interactive Audio and Tactile Guides for museums, heritage sites and town centres. The Trust is a pioneer in the use of binaural sound recording, as a spatial communication technique, as well as various ways of making tactile forms such as silk-screen printing, acid etching and CNC milling techniques. For further information about the work of the Trust, have a look at the Projects on this website.

The Trust's work has been recognised by a number of awards, and its interactive tactile design, the Dorcas Project, has been granted Millennium Products Status by the UK Design Council.