RAIC CONFERENCE ON ARCHITECTURE 2022 JUNE 6 ONLINE Andrew King, Catherine Lamarre
Sensory Spaces
“The session will be an image-rich, process descriptive presentation focusing on how applied design research can be a tool for meaningful, real and measurable improvement in lives challenged by some form of otherness. SENSORY SPACES will be framed as an architectural response to the spatial needs of adults with autism. Andrew King FRAIC Prix de Rome and Catherine Lamarre, director of the Yvon Lamarre foundation, will present the collaborative applied research project undertaken by FLDWRK, Lemay research and innovation initiative, in conjunction with the Yvon Lamarre foundation. Sensory design reaches beyond the visual domain and builds upon the idea of perception of space through all senses. It activates, triggers, and amplifies the inter-sensory relationships of touch, smell, sound, sight, and the wisdom of the body in space. This design approach is deeply inclusive, as it gives users, regardless of their sensory abilities, the opportunity to assimilate information from their environment– to meaningfully engage with the world and to participate in the social connections that take place in it.
In the case of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), sensory inputs are processed differently, which alters the perception and interpretation of space, making a person hyper or hypo-responsive to their environment. The research and design project defined a new paradigm for designing living environments, where the senses are brought forward to build adaptive and inclusive spaces that support the physical independence of adult individuals living with ASD. The short research will unfold around three core chapters that will provide a framework for the design of different typologies of residential living environments for people with ASD.”