The study of the senses and the impact on the built environment : a proposed rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired.

Abstract

To an adult who has lost their sense of sight, finding one’s way in the built environment is stressful as the surroundings are filled with many uncertainties. It is due to the sensory detachment of modern architecture that the process of perception is mainly focused on the sense of sight. This dissertation will analyse the theoretical works of Sven Hesselgren, Forrest Wilson and Juhani Pallasmaa to understand the theories of Phenomenology, Gestalt and Ocularcentrism respectively. These theories investigate the relationship between architecture, perception and the human senses. The understanding of these relationships will reveal how architecture can play a meaningful and supportive role in the rehabilitation of the newly blind.