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DESIGNING FOR THE SENSES

There a traditionally five senses; sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. In the western world (and especially within the Australian design industry) we place a lot of value on sight and it's sensory impacts. Whether or not a space is visually appealing is often the key deciding factor between whether or not you purchase a home, choose to renovate or decide on a hotel to visit. However, I believe that the experience we have within a space is influenced by more than meets the eye (pun intended).  

Whether or not a design has been successful is owed to much more than just the overall aesthetic; and what happens if you are suddenly deprived of that sense?

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This project aims to explore the sensory experience of design beyond what we see.

Sophie Dye

LECTURE & READING

Part One

The Senses & The Designed Environment

A Lecture Reflection...

How do you grasp "home" as it is lived and experienced by others. As a designer, it is our goal to capture this emotion or association and reproduce it in a way, design or space that makes the client feel comfortable and secure. In order to do this we first have to capture a livid experience. A smell or a memory held close to the client, perhaps the feeling of sunlight on the skin creates this connection with place. 

It is important to remember the five sense and to design for all of them in order to tune a space to support a range of human dispositions; and this requires the development of an "empathetic imagination".

So how is it that we incorporate these senses into design?

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The Rose Reading Room, New York Public Library

Part Two

Sensory Design

A Lecture Reflection...

Whether you "feel at home" or "out of place" in a public space is largely due to two things, the first being the design itself and the second being your own culture or habitus. 

When determining whether a space provided a place of comfort to its users consider whether it includes or excludes. Examples of this are explored in the text "The Sounds Of The American Public Library". The Rose Reading Room in New York with its lack of windows, 15.5 meter high ceilings and somber, formal furnishings is designed to accentuate and amplify every sound made with the space. The simple act of pushing back a chair or leafing through a book makes a noise that echoes through the space, immediately drawing attention to the creator of the sound. This type of design makes the user feel uncomfortable and ultimately excluded from the space. 

Comparatively, if we look at the Seattle Public Library's reading space you will see a vastly different design style. An angled glass ceiling brings in the natural light and seating spaces gather around the edge of the room where the ceiling is lowest creating a sense of security within the big space.

Your habitus determines if you feel like you fit into a space.

Your habitus changes and develops as you become more familiar with the cultural norms within a place.

The Reading 

The Eyes of the Skin

A Reflection...

The text The Eyes of the Skin by Juhani Pallasmaa tells a story of the five physical senses and how they have come to shape the architecture and design of the world around us through centuries of habit and expression. As designers we have a have a very distinct power when it comes to shaping our built environments and therefore the experiences had and emotions felt within them. If I had to summarise the message of this text in just one statement it would be 'everything we design will eventually design back on us'.

Sight is the sense that takes up the most amount of room when we design. As highlighted in the introduction of the text, the western world focuses on sight in most aspects of life. Consumerism, style and trend are predominately dictated by what we see or how it makes us look. Since the age of enlightenment we have been taught to be spectators in a world that is itself a spectacle.  Through out the text the author portrays this focus on sight as a negative, an insult to all the other senses; however I think that sight is being too harshly criticised. From when we wake up and literally open our eyes, sight is the most constant sense. In order to achieve or participate in most activities on a daily basis sight is needed.  Is it really a negative that sight is the main driver behind designs? Of course room needs to be made for the other senses in order to create a holistic space, however shouldn't the most dominant sense be considered at the beginning and end of project?

Prior to sight, Pallasmaa states that sound played the role of the dominant sense, however I believe that in many cultures sight was still the primary sensory tool. In article Rivka Ulmer and Jay Johnston they discuss the focus of sight in two ancient cultures, Jewish and Scottish respectively. I believe that sound is relied upon for safety and survival and sight is relied on for almost everything. To most, living without sight is unfathomable and this is why it is often overlooked when designing for the disabled as highlighted in the text by John Andrews.

Touch is the least conscious of the senses in my mind. This is due to the lack of thought behind each physical action (which is really a reaction to something else). I find that, short of the sensations of pain or pleasure, we do not often think about the feelings being imprinted on us by everything we are constantly in contact with. Perhaps our mind would be too easily distracted if we felt every footstep intensely. Perhaps this is the reason that Pallasmaa chooses not to take much time to discuss it in great depth. As designers, I believe the tactility of the space we create for our clients is one of the most important elements to consider, even more important than sound as we are more in charge of creating sensations of interaction and not listening.

Like touch, smell and taste do not get much airtime in this text, however I can agree with this. Smell is linked so closely with taste that I find it impossible to discuss one without the other. The support actors to the other senses, smell and taste are there to enhance the overall experience of a space. For me, smell plays the largest role when it evokes intimate memories whilst taste creates them.

Pallasmaa sums up the text with a call to action; to reestablish the mission and goals of architecture and to create spaces with identity and integrity. I could not agree with this more.

Andrews, John. "A Clearer Vision: Challenge: Helping Visually Impaired Residents: Response: Contrasting Colors that make Objects Stand Out.(DESIGN DECISIONS)." Assisted Living 6, no. 1 (2008): 20.

Johnston, Jay. "Stone-Agency: Sense, Sight and Magical Efficacy in Traditions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland." Religion 47, no. 3 (2017): 445-14.

Ulmer, Rivka. "Rachel Neis. the Sense of Sight in Rabbinic Culture: Jewish Ways of Seeing in Late Antiquity." The American Historical Review 120, no. 2 (2015): 690-691.

An important element that contributes to both your habitus and you ability to "feel at home" in a space is cultural capital. You need to know the culture of a space in order to feel comfortable within it.

With mainly experiencing  the world with our eyes, what type of observer are we becoming?

The western world is ocularcentric meaning that it is designed with sight as the dominant sense. This reliance on sight as the main tool with which to experience the world means that we are becoming ocularcentric observers. ​As Pallasmaa discusses in the text, he and many other writers, designers and academics are concerned that this focus on sight is causing our designs and the wider population who interact with them to become fickle and shallow. Ocularcentism is also forcing us to remain present in every moment.

Pallasmaa says that the eye can itself be biased, “nihilistic or narcissistic" -  explain...

Everything we see is categorised within our minds based on the past experiences we associate with what we are viewing. In Pallasmaa's words, he state that the narcissistic eye see architecture as a form of self-expression; narcissistic architecture looks good for itself and doesn't take into consideration the streetscape or landscape that surrounds it.. In simpler words, I believe that Pallasmaa is suggesting that the narcissistic eye is concerned with the aesthetics of the space over the functionality where as the nihilistic eye disengages as from a spaces. The nihilistic eye is the negative visual element of our habitus because it recognises parts of a space that make us feel isolated or unfamiliar. 

What is your favourite visual example in the book?

My favourite visual example in the book is the painting Lovers by René Magritte in his text, followed by the caption "in heightened emotional states and deep thought, vision is usually repressed". To me this is an accurate statement as in moments of high tension, risk or emotion we tend to look inward rather than out, as beautifully represented by this artwork.

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Lovers, Painting by René Magritte

Part Three

Designing for Change Under the NDIS

A Lecture Reflection...

Over time people with disabilities have been integrated into society in four ways. Exclusion was the original response to the disabled, with meant that people with disabilities were often neglected and left alone in the world. As we move forwards in time, it was decided to create a space for the disabled to live together under the care of a facility. This Separation from society was the second "solution". The third was Integration however people often stop here. Would that suffice if someone could just get into a space? Would that mean they are included? When designing for anyone in our modern world, complete Inclusion for all should always be our end goal. Today we need to design spaces that work with the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme)

THE COLD HARD FACTS

Disability in Australia...

  • Disability is often defined as any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted or is likely to last over six months.

  • In Australia, almost one in five people (4.3 million) have a disability. One in three have a severe or profound core activity limitation.

  • 35.9% of Australian households have a person with a disability (3.2 million).

Income Inequality..

  • People with a disability are 2.7 times more likely to be at risk of poverty than other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.

  • 45% of those with a disability in Australia are living either near or below the poverty line, more than double the OECD average of 22%.

  • Note: There are 34 OECD member countries, most are classified as westernised first world countries.

UN Convention: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities...

Australia was one of the first western countries to ratify the united nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the 17th of July 2008. By doing this, Australia joined other countries in the global effort to make life easier for those with disabilities. The purpose of this is to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people with a disability, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.​

Employment Inequality..

  • In Australia, the unemployment rate for people with a disability is 10%, nearly double that of people without disabilities which is 5.3%.

  • 27% of people with a disability work full-time, compared with 53.8% of those without a disability.

  • Australia ranks 21 out of 29 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries for labour force participation of people with a disability.

Education Inequality..

  • 41% of people with a disability aged 15 to 64 years have completed Year 12, compared with 63% of those without a disability.

  • 17% of people with a disability have completed a Bachelor Degree or above, compared with 30% without a disability.

A Lecture Reflection Continued...

Based on this we need to ask 'how is inclusion going to make a difference to people with disabilities?' 

In order to do this we should be guided by the question of whether institutions promote human flourishing for all people. There are a number of universal needs that need to be met in order to encourage people to flourish. They need capabilities to undertake opportunities and activities. To have a “capability” there needs to be a “fit” between individuals and their environment. The individual must possess the person ability, resource, practical means and knowledge as well as the external environment.

8 Goals of Universal Design

Element of Feeling 'In Place'

  • Body Fit (do you fit into a space?)

  • Comfort

  • Awareness

  • Understanding (do you understand the what, why and how of the space?)

  • Wellness

  • Social Integration (Do you feel segregated?)

  • Personalisation (Can the space be changed to work for the individual?)

  • Cultural appropriateness

Part Five

Inclusive Design I

A Lecture Reflection...

One: Disability in Australia

Disability is often defined as any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted or is likely to last over six months.

  • In Australia, almost one in five people (4.3 million) have a disability. One in three have a severe or profound core activity limitation.

  • 35.9% of Australian households have a person with a disability (3.2 million).

  • Australia was one of the first western countries to ratify the united nations Convention on the Tights of Persons with disabilities on the 17th of July 2008. By doing this, Australia joined other countries in the global effort to make life easier for those with disabilities. The purpose of this is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people with disability, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

  • Disability increases the likelihood of experiencing social inequality.

  • Income inequality: people with a disability are 2.7 times more likely to be at risk of poverty than other OECD countries. 45% of those with a disability in Australia are living either near or below the poverty line, more than double the OECD average.

  • Employment: The unemployment rate for people with a disability was 10%, nearly double that of people without disabilities which is 5.3%. 27% of people with a disability work full-time, compare with 53.8% of those without a disability. Australia ranks 21 out of 29 OECD countries for labour force participation of people with a disability.

  • 41% of people with a disability aged 15 to 64 years have completed Year 12, compared with 63% of those without a disability. 17% of people with a disability have completed a Bachelor Degree or above, compared with 30% without a disability.

 

Two: Addressing Inequality

How is inclusion going to make a difference to people with disabilities?

  • We should be guided by the question of whether institutions promote human flourishings for all people.

  • There are a number of universal needs that need to be met in order to encourage people to flourish. They need capabilities to undertake opportunities and activities.

  • To have a “capability” there needs to be a “fit” between individuals and their environment. The individual must possess the person ability, resource, practical means and knowledge AS WELL as the external environment.

 

Three: The NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme)

Does the NDIS aim to promote inclusion based on not just people but also their environments? The NDIS philosophy is consistent with this. The vision of the NDIS is for ‘an inclusive Australian society that enables people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal citizens. More than just making things accessible.

There are two levels of NDIS. 1. Funding and support systems for those with a profound and permanent disability. 2. The overall success relies on point 1 and point 2. Which is the information, Linkages and Capacity Building Program (ILC).

If we (disabled people are good at problem solving)

It is good for our economy because the NDIS follow an ‘insurance model’ the more people are included in community the better their mental health will be and more employers will want to employ them.

Australia does not do well in the employment of people with disabilities. If we met the global average we would create 100,000 to 320,000  jobs which would amount to $32 billion in GDP.

It’s not just about accessible communities but inclusive, designing for change. NDIS is to facilitate participation and support to fulfil their potential in the community and in organisations.

 

Four: The Role of Design

What guides our sense of not fitting into space?

Habituate responses organised by our bodily sense dictates whether we access services or participate.

We approach every situation with embodied predispositions as to whether we have a place in certain settings and spaces. It makes us rule ourselves out of inclusion.

The NDIS goes hand in hand with the universal need for design. We need to focus on INLCUSION.

The eight goals of universal design should be adapted to include a ninth; recognition.

Design needs to encourage the wider society to understand and gain awareness in order to identify the issues, have awareness of ones owns thoughts, actions and responses, and appreciate and respect the need for inclusion.

Part Four

The Socio-Spatial Experience of Intellectual Disability

A Lecture Reflection...

We need to understand that fit and misfit can exist as a relationship, not just as an interaction with a person or community. Fitting means that your encounter with at space is harmonious. However, a misfit describes an incongruent relationship with a space. It’s not about the dimensions of fitting it’s about whether the feel like you fit. Misfitting produces segregation. Our society has a goal to be more inclusive however fitting is always considered in the world of design causing this misfit. It doesn’t just come from social interactions, it also comes from designed and built experiences. You don’t have to interact with a person to feel like you are misfitted.

Institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation create the historical bases for the nature and experience of people with intellectual disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities have difficulties in combatting the issues that their disability creates. The design of a space can either add to these issues or create a space for them to combat them without providing them with further problems. We have come from a place of institutionalisation where mentally disabled people functioned as inmates, with very little opportunity for individual expression and participation.

Institutionalisation: A total institution is a place of residence and work where a large number of people with similar issues are cut off from society. These people lead an enclosed life, dressed the same and treated the same, with all aspects of their life controlled by rules. These spaces where designed to humiliate, degrade and deface the identity of the individuals in with in institution.

Deinstitutionalisation: Up until the 1990s, some individuals were still kept in institutions. Deinstitutionalisation aimed to improve the quality of life with disabilities. The goal was for them to learn adaptive skills and have access to better care and ‘ideally’ a better quality of life. However, it is not clear that deinstitutionalisation actually leads to real inclusion with the different levels of community. Institutionalisation can cause dependency and is also at risk of being inadvertently recreated in programs in community settings. Today, many people are included as excluded; fitting within the community somewhere but still being on the outskirts. People with intellectual disabilities are often referred to as having a ‘learning disability’, however this language change doesn’t change the societal placement of these individuals. A person with an intellectual disability is often unsure as to how situations will play out.

To address these issues we need to restructure how participation in work home and community is organised. It is also important to create predictable spaces that allow individuals to feel welcome and at ease. Opportunities to assert their identity and control their situations are needed. Relationships need to be developed with collective support and strategies to improve the understanding of the community.

Learning and Lifestyle centres for people with intellectual disabilities need to allow people to feel ‘in place’. As designers we are tasked with conceptualising the promotion of feeling ‘in place’. A part of this is feeling ‘in place’ within an organisation that can assist an individual to engage with the community as well. We can do this by recognising that participation, agency, self-esteem, social identity and respect are needed. The Eight Goals Of Universal Design should be adapted to include a ninth; recognition. Design needs to encourage the wider society to understand and gain awareness in order to identify the issues, have awareness of ones owns thoughts, actions and responses, and appreciate and respect the need for inclusion.

Part Six

Inclusive Design II

A Lecture Reflection...

We need to understand that fit and misfit can exist as a relationship, not just as an interaction with a person or community. Fitting means that your encounter with at space is harmonious. However, a misfit describes an incongruent relationship with a space. It’s not about the dimensions of fitting it’s about whether the FEEL like you fit. Misfitting produces segregation. Our society has a goal to be more inclusive however fitting is always considered in the world of design causing this misfit. It doesn’t just come from social interactions, it also comes from designed and built experiences. You don’t have to interact with a person to feel like you are misfitted.

Institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation create the historical bases for the nature and experience of people with intellectual disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities have difficulties in combatting the issues that their disability creates. The design of a space can either add to these issues or create a space for them to combat them without providing them with further problems. We have come from a place of institutionalisation where mentally disabled people functioned as inmates, with very little opportunity for individual expression and participation.

Institutionalisation: A total institution is a place of residence and work where a large number of people with similar issues are cut off from society. These people lead an enclosed life, dressed the same and treated the same, with all aspects of their life controlled by rules. These spaces where designed to humiliate, degrade and deface the identity of the individuals in with in institution.

Deinstitutionalisation: Up until the 1990s, some individuals were still kept in institutions. Deinstitutionalisation aimed to improve the quality of life with disabilities. The goal was for them to learn adaptive skills and have access to better care and ‘ideally’ a better quality of life. However, it is not clear that deinstitutionalisation actually leads to real inclusion with the different levels of community. Institutionalisation can cause dependency and is also at risk of being inadvertently recreated in programs in community settings. Today, many people are included as excluded; fitting within the community somewhere but still being on the outskirts. People with intellectual disabilities are often referred to as having a ‘learning disability’, however this language change doesn’t change the societal placement of these individuals. A person with an intellectual disability is often unsure as to how situations will play out.

To address these issues we need to restructure how participation in work home and community is organised. It is also important to create predictable spaces that allow individuals to feel welcome and at ease. Opportunities to assert their identity and control their situations are needed. Relationships need to be developed with collective support and strategies to improve the understanding of the community.

Learning and Lifestyle centres for people with intellectual disabilities need to allow people to feel ‘in place’. As designers we are tasked with conceptualising the promotion of feeling ‘in place’. A part of this is feeling ‘in place’ within an organisation that can assist an individual to engage with the community as well. We can do this by recognising that participation, agency, self-esteem, social identity and respect are needed. The Eight Goals Of Universal Design should be adapted to include a ninth; recognition. Design needs to encourage the wider society to understand and gain awareness in order to identify the issues, have awareness of ones owns thoughts, actions and responses, and appreciate and respect the need for inclusion.

INTERVIEW

Interviewing A Person With Sensory Deprivation

Life With A Vision Impairment

A Transcript...

S: So I’ve got a few questions to chat to you about. Some about what other senses you rely on and some about how you interact with your home. Why don’t we start by telling me about your vision impairment?

J: Okay, some of those questions are really easy to answer, others not so easy. So when you’re talking vision loss there are many different stages. So I’m not completely blind, I still have light and dark vision. I can still see some colours but I have no functional vision which means you could be standing right in front of me and I couldn’t tell you that it was you that was standing there.

S: What other senses do you rely on? Do you find that your other senses have become more prevalent since you became visually impaired?

J: Absolutely, and the main ones when you have lost your vision… the main ones that are absolutely enhanced are you hearing and your sense of smell.

S: So not so much touch?

J: Um, not so much. For me that’s because I tend to do a lot of brail so the tips of my fingers are quite hardened up I ‘spose because of the mechanisms of the brail.

S: So with smell and sound… how do they assist you?

J: What happens is over time you tend to be able to hear different things out of different ears. So if you are standing at a set of lights you can hear and differentiate the traffic that is on your left to your right. So you can actually hear that the traffic on your left is standing still and that their idle and the ones on your right are revving up. And you can do that as you are crossing a road, so you can tell that the cars are actually standing still and when they’re not. And that becomes really vitally important when you are crossing roads. You can also tell the differences between cars, as in whether they are smaller cars and bigger cars simply by their sounds.

S: And what about smell? How has that changed for you or helped you?

J: Yup, so smell is more intensified. I don’t know, yeah, it is intensified. Also, I ‘spose it goes a lot with the enhanced memory as well so you start to associate people with smells. So instead of recognising your face, I will start recognising your smell. It sounds like a dog. Some of the girls at work will change perfumes quite frequently and it is so annoying. Just stick with the same one and I will be happy. But you’ve got the regular people who use their regular deodorants and perfumes and their own natural bodily scents that you begin to recognise when you are with them day in and day out. So you start to pay attention to that sort of thing. But when it comes to sound, you also begin to pay attention to the way people move as well. So you can start to hear the way people walk and you can actually listen to who is approaching you simply by the way they are walking. In our office that’s a bit difficult because we have about fifty people that work there so there’s really too many.

S: But I can imagine at home you’d be able to tell who is approaching you?

J: Well, there’s only three of us who live here. I am down to my last daughter at home, she’s sixteen, the other two are gone. So it’s really easy to tell. And at home I don’t need my cane, my long cane. I can get around this house and I can get around the yard outside. Simply as soon as I get home, my cane goes away.

S: So obviously you rely on memory to get through the home?

J: Yup, from when we moved in here the furniture has been in the same spot, nothing has moved.

S: And what about light and tone, does that assist with things like being able to see doorways?

J: It becomes less of an issue once you start dealing with vision loss, you’re not relying on your sight anymore, you’re relying on almost like a body memory. So you tend to know that it’s that far and then you turn and there’s the doorway. That doesn’t always corelate to the right amount of steps either because I have run into doorframes on so many occasions and I still do it. You think you’ve judged it exactly right because you’ve done it a hundred times before but you still run into the door frame. But it’s a body memory. It’s the same as stairs. I’ve got six stairs in my house, they are carpeted stairs and I continuously fall down them. And that’s simply because I know they’re there and I’m too cavalier about it, I think I’ve got my footing right and I haven’t and I’ve been too quick to go down them.

S: What additions to spaces make them easier to interact with?

J: So it’s about having furniture that is minimalistic, that’s soft. So when you run into it, and it’s not a matter of if, it’s when, because I have collided with every surface in this house at one point or another. So it’s making sure that the surfaces are soft where possible. So when you’ve got tables, that there are no hard edges on those tables, no sharp edges. So your corners are all rounded, you’ve got relatively light kitchen chairs, your couches are totally fabric. That if you’re going to hit them you’re not going to do too much damage to them or yourself. I’ve got a leather bound blanket box, I’ve got a three-seater couch and two recliners and I’ve got a tv on a stand. Now all that goes around the four walls of the lounge room and there is nothing in middle. Everything is around the outside of the room. It’s the same with the dining room, the only thing that is in the middle of the room is the table and the chairs. And it’s about routine then, it’s about everyone pushing in their chairs and things like that. The other thing with design and that with people that are visually impaired is that everything has a place. And that’s down to when you think about sprays in the kitchen, there has to be different spots for each them so that they don’t get confused. Let’s say you put the oven spray and the spray and wipe side by side then they feel exactly the same. So it’s about how you organise your kitchen has got to be identical. It’s a whole family thing, everybody has got to be onboard, everybody has got to put everything back exactly where it belongs or else it just throws everything else out. And I have opened a tin of cat food hoping that I was getting spaghetti out of the tin. Lucky I smelt the tuna in the cat food. And they are the possible mistakes.

IDE3 - Fred Hollows Sight Simulator.JPG

City Street Sight (Glaucoma) Simulator, Fred Hollows Foundation

A Reflection...

My biggest assumption prior to undertaking this interview was that a person who was visually impaired would rely heavily on the sense of touch over the senses sound and smell. When I interviewed J I was surprised to find out that her sense of touch had actually degraded from reading braille and that the senses of smell and sound were much more heavily relied upon. I discovered that sound is often the sense used for way-finding and orientation where as smell is used for identification of people, food, materials and the like.

Sound is perhaps the most important sense for someone with a vision impairment as it allows them to sonically orient themselves within a place. Sound is also the sense that is relied upon for safety. As J mentioned, she relies on sound to know when to cross a road. The research conducted and discussed in the journal article Understanding the Barriers: Grocery Stores and Visually Impaired Shoppers follows the journeys of six visually impaired participants as they shop for groceries. Participants stated that in order to find their way around the supermarket as well as finding things like trolleys and cash registers they relied heavily on sound. In order to find products they relied more on muscle memory, much like J does within her own home. In the journal article Retail Design and the Visually Impaired: A Needs Assessment it is suggested that retail staff should be better equipped to assist visually impaired customer and act as more of a guide or personal shopper in order to assist them, personally I believe that this would be incredibly valuable and helpful for the visually impaired consumer.

The final thing I wish to reflect on and discuss is the use of colour and tone to assist in the daily live of visually impaired persons. In John Andrews journal article A Clearer Vision: Challenge: Helping Visually Impaired Residents he discusses how, when we think of designing for disabilities, vision impairment is often overlooked. He states that in order to design for the visually impaired we need to incorporate high-contrast colour schemes into our designs to assist with daily life within the home and way-finding in public environments. Whilst this may be the case for the elderly whose eyesight is slowly fading, it is not the case for J who stated "once you start dealing with vision loss, you’re not relying on your sight anymore".

For J, a good design would not consider colour in anyway but rather the feelings of the objects surrounding her. A beautiful painting or colourful cushions can be substituted for the warmth of sunshine on the skin or a comfortable place to sit and listen to music.

Andrews, John. "A Clearer Vision: Challenge: Helping Visually Impaired Residents: Response: Contrasting Colors that make Objects Stand Out.(DESIGN DECISIONS)." Assisted Living 6, no. 1 (2008): 20.

Khattab, Doaa A., Julie Buelow, and Donna Saccuteli. "Understanding the Barriers: Grocery Stores and Visually Impaired Shoppers." Journal of Accessibility and Design for all 5, no. 2 (2015): 157-173.

Yu, Hong, Sandra Tullio-Pow, and Ammar Akhtar. "Retail Design and the Visually Impaired: A Needs Assessment." Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 24, no. C (2015): 121-129.

PECHA KUCHA PRESENTATION

A Group Project...

A Pecha Kucha is a type of presentation that originated from Japan which consists of twenty slides that each go for twenty seconds giving the speaker a total of six minutes and forty seconds to share their presentation.

Pecha Kucha means "chit chat" in Japanese.

ASSESSMENT 1

PROJECT OVERVIEW

DESIGNING A LEARNING & LIFESTYLE CENTRE
Client: Endeavour Foundation

In this project we are designing the spaces within a Learning & Lifestyle centre that offers support services to people with disabilities and their carers. These centres are run by the Endeavour Foundation under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) and use a person-centred model to enhance the independence, confidence, self-esteem, interaction skills and life choices of each person. These centres provide support and allows people to access a range of learning programs as well as personalised recreational and social activities that assist people to achieve their goals. 

The Endeavour Foundation is seeking to improve their Learning and Lifestyle centres to make them inclusive, welcoming, modern, flexible, state of the art facilities where clients and carers feel included, supported, encouraged and inspired. 

The following areas will need to be included within the design: break out rooms for educational purposes, open plan for multipurpose activities, art room for specific art programs, office space, chill out rooms, kitchen for general use and meal preparation, and general facilities including ambulant access and shower facilities.

 

This will be achieved using 'The Eight Goals of Universal Design' to inform the design.

THE TASK

This project aims to propose a new inclusive design approach for Endeavour’s Learning & Lifestyle facilities.

01.

INCLUSIVE SOCIETY IS A SOCIETY FOR ALL WHERE EVERY INDIVIDUAL HAS A ROLE TO PLAY:

02.

PEOPLE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO PARTICIPATE IN FIELDS OF WORKING LIFE, EDUCATION, CIVIC AND POLITICAL LIFE.

03.

PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO CONVERT THESE RESOURCES INTO A VALUED LIFE.

What is Endeavour Foundation

Endeavour Foundation is an independent organisation that was established in 1951. Their vision is to support people with an intellectual disability to live their best life; beginning with equal access to education and life-skills learning.

Today Endeavor focuses on ability, on growing the dreams, goals and potential of their customers. They collaborate with their customers to imagine the possibilities and then work together to make them happen.

Endeavour has a human-centric approach in which they take the time to understand the lifestyle, routines, dreams and the people who are important to their customers.

What is The NDIS

In Australia there are approximately 4.3 million people who have been diagnosed with a disability. The NDIS or National Disability Insurance Scheme aims to provide around 460,000 Australians aged under 65, who have permanent and significant disabilities with funding for supports and services. 

The NDIS will do this by providing all people with a disability who are being assisted by the NDIS with information and connections to services in their communities such as doctors, sporting clubs, support groups, libraries and schools. The NDIS will also information on the support that is provided by the government in each state and territory.

What are Learning & Lifestyle Centres

A Learning and Lifestyle centre is a space that assists people with intellectual disabilities to gain independence, confidence, self-esteem, and social interaction skills. These centres are adaptable spaces that work with clients on a case by case basis, with individual programs created for each person who visits. They offer a range of activities and support services for people who wish to identify and achieve goals, participate in the community, learn, build relationships and have fun.

PROJECT TIMELINE

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ASSESSMENT II

DOCUMENTATION DOWNLOADS

Return Brief:

Presentation:

RETURN BRIEF

POSTER

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PRESENTATION

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