Wednesday, September 8, 2010

architecture for the visually impaired

how does a blind person perceive architecture? 


_Through touching things and asking what colour they are


_The blind can hear how spacious an area is or how deep it is or if it has windows


_They can feel wind coming in through doors or windows


_The acoustics in a room or outside has a lot to do with our perception of a space


_The bind have to process what they hear, smell and feel into mental images of what is seen with the visual sense.


_Keep doors either wide opened or totally closed


_Those who are blind get motion sickness easier due to the fact of all the information coming into our brain to process and sort


_The more crowded an area is the more the more blind people want to get away because they can hear and smell everything.


_Open space gives the blind a sense of freedom and on the other hand it can be too noisy


_Sound is a primary source of a blind persons world


_Inside rock walls tend to muffle the sound which doesn't help


_Brick is better than rock walls


_High ceilings make the rooms sound huge


_Wood paneling seems to hold the noise out


_Rooms that aren't too small are preferred as they do not feel restricting 


_Blind people prefer walls with texture because then they can feel it and get a sense of what it looks like through touch


_Lighting is very important when designing for the visually impaired. Depending on the person - too much light can hurt and not enough makes it too dark. 


_Fluorescent lights are glaring and annoying


_In a utopia every building would have a plaque describing the building for us


_Contrast is very important


_The blind can sense the size of the building from outside by hearing the wind blowing off and around it. A blind person can also sense little crevices and hallows of a building.


_Smooth glass and steel are not ideal materials as they sound very hallow and cold.

_Landmarks are important to know where they are and what is where. 

_Large windows can creak loudly and are just another noise the blind have to process.

               _anonymous

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