Experience Center for Blind and Deaf

Project idea

Blind and deaf people are among the most socially and economically marginalized communities and don't have enough opportunities. The 'Experience Centre for Blind and Deaf' is a place that provides an environment and experience to the people with visual and hearing impairments how to enhance their sensory perception and be able to gain knowledge and confidence to live a normal life.

The primary idea focuses on creating sensory landmarks to aid in wayfinding and giving a sense of orientation in a space to the users. The design is targeted for three types of different users; daily blind and deaf users who come for training and job (called as users), blind and deaf users who visit the center for the experience and recreation and the regular public who visit the center for the experience and recreation (called as visitors).

To cater to the flow of these three users, two different circulation path is designed. One is the thoroughfare spine that guides the daily blind and deaf users to their respective studios and workspaces, and another is the experience spine loop that weaves through the building and the landscape that leads the visitors (blind, deaf and the public) to galleries and simulation spaces.

Project description

The foyer is a triple height volume with scented plaster on its ceiling which produces a specific scent when hit by the sunlight. The angular geometry of the high roof and the orientation of the void inlets the sunlight to hit the interior of the roof in different surfaces throughout the day that produces different smell from the scented plaster. As the user enters the foyer, they can anticipate the time of the day they enter the building depending upon how the room would smell.

The straight spine continues to guide the users to the studios and a meandering curved ramp leads the visitors to the basement which consist of simulation spaces. Along the straight thoroughfare spine in the ground floor, studios and workshops are organized so that the users can directly go to their respective workspaces. The straight thoroughfare spine consists of a sensory trail wall with tactile indications that guides the users to the studios.

An indoor recreation at the mid of the spine acts as an indoor landscape break room that connects the respective studios and the galleries in the ground floor. It brings the nature inside the building to provide a space for the visually impaired users who are sensitive to the sunlight during the day to recreate and relax inside the building. Also, with a double height ceiling, this space provides a visual communication between the ground floor and the galleries in the first floor.

Water is used as a material throughout the project and some water bodies contain aquatic animals that produce splashing sound which gives a sense of orientation to the users. The straight thoroughfare spine passes through a cascading water surface. The water drips from the first floor creating white noise as the user navigates along the spine. A large curved ramp leads the users to the first floor. The ramp rises over an artificial mound in the landscape to provide an experience of climbing a hill to the users. A patio in the south connects to a water feature where the users can have the experience of boating and reaching multiple destinations in the landscape. Cafeteria is placed in the western edge of the center that acts as a connecting node from all the pathways and spines. The node is designed as a lounge which respects the deaf space design guidelines that expresses the need of an interactive space in nodes for easy wayfinding.

A texture gallery in the mezzanine floor nearby the foyer displays the different types of material textures used in the building so that the visitors can get familiar with the textures that come along the journey.
The meandering spine from the mezzanine floor leads the visitors out in the open where they can sense sound, smell, wind and the view that landscape provides. Then they enter inside the tactile art gallery in the first floor. The high conical roof shell in the tactile art gallery brings in the diffused daylight in the gallery needed for the users to enjoy the art works. As the indoor recreation space below is double height, it offers a clear visual connection between the tactile art gallery and the audio gallery in the opposite side for a profound sign language communication.

The spine meanders over a mound to provide the experience of climbing a hill to the visitors. As one climbs the hill with the support of the handrails, the visually impaired visitor gets tactile description of the view of the surrounding from the hill through braille indications in the handrail. The hill offers the view of the football ground adjacent to the site and the users can enjoy the football match. Also, when the weather is clear, a view of mountains can be seen in the north from the hill.

The meandering spine from the foyer leads to the basement where the visitors gradually enter the darkness. The visitors can either enter the blind simulation space or the deaf simulation space to experience the absence of a sense. As the visitors enter the blind simulation space they begin to participate as a blind individual would as they would enter complete darkness and they would have to perform simple tasks in the dark. The blind simulation space provides a dialogue in the dark where the visitors start to feel and empathize the blind individuals. They learn from the blind community as they escape from the complete darkness. As the visitors exit the blind simulation space, they reach a curved ramp. On slowly going up the ramp, a dim light slowly starts entering the space until they enter the brightness so that their eyes can gradually adjust.

Upon entering the deaf simulation space, the visitors are provided with noise cancelling headphone and they enter a vibrating space where they can’t hear the sound but can only feel the vibration of the sound being produced. The path then leads to a space where the water rains down from the aquatic pond in the ground floor to the basement. It is a space where they can’t hear the sound of water dripping and crashing the ground as it should but they can only see and feel it. It is the space where they experience the absence of their hearing sense and the primary dependence on the visual cues. The path finally leads to the isolation space, a room that is void from basement to the roof and only contains a staircase that leads to the first floor. They experience nothingness, but only some visual cues of the outside world. Diffused daylight enters the space through the oculus and the visitor slowly upon reaching the ground and the first floor can view what is happening outside. They can see the activities of daily life unfolding in the landscape but they can’t hear anything. They are right there but are isolated and that is what deafness would feel like, not be able to hear what you should hear. The visitors then exit the simulation space and reach the first floor where they enter the audio gallery, slowly resuming to their normal sense.

Technical information

The design articulates the senses through careful use of natural elements like water, wind, sound, light, shadow and texture as a building material. The project is an approach to phenomenology in architecture to evoke emotion through senses in design. Activities like boating, hill climbing, multi-sensory museum, simulation spaces and studios have formed a basis for blind and deaf individuals to come together and develop hand in hand to enhance their living status.

Documentation

Show PDF 1