How We Learn to See: Inclusive Sensory Experiences in Learning Environments

Niloufar Vakil (University of Kansas)

Much has been written on architecture and its relationship to phenomenology. Profound architecture has a way of engaging all our senses and somehow placing us in the world with distinct specificity. One is able to be transported to a different time and place through memories triggered by the tactile, sonic, and aromatic qualities of an environment. This ability for environments to hold us in two places at once is powerful and speaks to the imprint memories can have on us when all our senses are employed.

How can this technique of sensory design be utilized to create environments where the primary user is dependent on non-visual cues? Can these strategies elevate wayfinding to broader notions of navigation, journey, and discovery?

This study traces inclusive sensory design strategies that allow blind and visually impaired children and young adults to engage with their surroundings within learning environments. Three case studies explore the impact of sensory design and its ability to allow users to more fully experience their surroundings: the historic Kansas State School for the Blind (1867), the Denver Anchor School (2007), and the Glasgow Hazelwood School (2008). Lessons can be taken from these demographic-specific learning environments and applied more broadly to educational settings in which “ocularcentrism”(Pallasmaa, 2005) has been privileged over experiencing the world through all our senses.

Pallasmaa, J., (2005) The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. West Sussex, England: Wiley.