Exploring visual impairment through the built environment.

Abstract

Visual impairment can present itself as a tough challenge in a human's life, and navigating the built environment independently is often one of the biggest obstacles to be approached. Not being able to perceive the environment around one and having an absence of a strong relationship or bond to the spaces one encounters leads to visually impaired people feeling lost in space. These issues get exacerbated by the gross insufficiencies of the built environment in its response to being inclusive for the visually impaired. This is often caused by the modern architectural approach, which did not factor in significant consideration for the other senses within their designs and favoured an ocular-centric approach that gave much preference to the sense of sight in architecture. As a result of the isolation in space, visually impaired people end up being excluded from the built environment and even other activities that may take place within buildings due to the lack of inclusivity within many different architectural typologies. This dissertation will explore how the built environment can respond more to visual impairment. The framework of the research will be formulated through the literature covering the theories of Phenomenology, Place theory, Universal Design and Multi-sensory design. These theories will more profoundly explore the human senses' role in the perception of the built environment. Understanding how architecture can respond will assist in making the built environment more inclusive for the visually impaired and strengthen the relationship of the senses to space to make architectural design more meaningful.