The Maples Respite centre was developed in response to a need to provide short term care for children with disabilities and their parents in and around Harlow, Essex. The challenge lay in developing a design which would feel non-institutional while also meeting functional and maintenance requirements.

In a project that required the integration of specialist knowledge to accommodate the care of severely disabled children, it was crucial that consultation and understanding of needs was developed between design professionals and the service manager of the centre. The DQI formed part of a number of consultative methods used to facilitate this understanding in order to produce a building fit for purpose.

The DQI sessions brought together professionals who had been involved in the design process in order to develop a holistic understanding of the design, improve communication between parties who would not otherwise have met and to consolidate an understanding of what end users were looking for.