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Guide to the influence of architecture and its physical spaces in autism.
We can understand that we are not all alike and that we do not all perceive things the same, even being aware that the architecture must be for everyone, although we involuntarily forget it, and we have already talked about this in how to design a school for children's learning.
Projecting the impossible or building almost utopian dreams is synonymous with splendor, medals, trophies, but the reality is that without the observer or the occupant, our work of art becomes only concrete and iron, an element without meaning, without reason. of being.
"If man is ignored, architecture is unnecessary" Alzaro Siza
There are a thousand rules for project buildings where the exercise of architecture is carried out bearing in mind the existence of people with different types and degrees of disability (mainly visual, auditory and motor). It is then spoken of "accessibility", which is a mainly physical concept: it is about allowing people with disabilities access to buildings / spaces, which, ultimately, makes it possible for them to inhabit them.
However, for people with certain cognitive, sensory deficiencies, etc. Among which are the people with autism, this assumption about how spaces will be perceived and experienced is far from being true: due to their deficits, they must make an effort, sometimes enormous, to assimilate and understand the environment that surrounds them.
We believe that in order to understand what autism is and its different actions, the vision of the present is relevant documentary film short "Other voices."(Note: Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's disorder is a group of mental and behavioral problems that is part of autism spectrum disorders. Autism spectrum disorder is also called ASD).
The action of getting to know is called cognition and when this refers to the physical environment, it is called spatial cognition. It is here, where the difficulty increases in autistic people who recognize a disorder and disorientation, have problems to organize in a global and coherent way, the different elements that make up the physical space.
It is where architecture professionals must understand and know the basic aspects to minimize. Either to remember that architecture is for everyone or because it is currently recognized that out of every 150 children, one has some degree of autism. (Some studies claim they are one in 100)
How can a physical space affect an autistic person?
At this point we want to add with a real comment that a father coined about a visit to a shopping center:
Last week we went to a mall. Our eldest daughter,NorahI wanted to see "Zipi and Zape and the Marble Club". We met with some friends for a drink, while she, with hers, went to the movies.
Ares came with us. He accompanies us everywhere, despite the difficulties that he creates for us in open spaces, because we believe that by going out and participating in daily activities, he will better integrate into normality.
The mall we went to has a glossy floor, like varnish, and stripes of different colors. Ares has anyperception difficulty that prevents you, for example, from tackling the steps well or interpreting reliefs and changes in the texture of the ground. Sometimes a change in color on the road surface is interpreted as an obstacle, which overcomes all fours, although, in reality, there is not the slightest change in height.
Ares she entered the mall asleep. When he woke up and saw that colored floor, he was scared, began to cry and wanted to leave. When it freaks out, it grabs you tightly and the face is reduced to two huge, wide-open eyes. She only calmed down when she was out in the street, away from that smooth, colored floor, which for her must have been an insurmountable slide of ups and downs with each change of hue.
Norah liked “Zipi y Zape”. (From the blog enelmargenn.wordpress.com Some parents explain the real stories and evolution of their girl with ASD)
General guidelines for a coherent architecture in the face of autism.
In this case we leave you a presentation that we believe is relevant to understand the general lines in a coherent architecture before the TEA.
To delve deeper into the subject of autism in architecture We add a series of manuals where the lines to be followed in the architecture are specified to a greater extent:
- Autism and architecture: strategies to design educational spaces in PDF. What can we consult from HERE
- Spatial perception and TEA (Introduction to architectural spaces)
- Guidelines for housing: Design for adults with autism spectrum disorders (English - Very good manual. Especially at the end with excellent information regarding the design of spaces)
- Architecture and disability (Thesis): Comprehensive care center for autistic children (Spanish - Very good)
- Construction of homes that work for the autistic. (English)
A necessary book to understand the interior architectural space in the face of autism:
«The sensory systems of children with autism usually present hypo and hypersensitivity, and interior design is an organization and systematization instrument that helps to define when to control or encourage them, in order to provoke an improvement in the behavior of these little ones. home. Through the study of the components of the space and the behavioral profile of the user, it has been concluded that, to the extent that they are managed factors such as lighting, shapes, textures, furniture, acoustics, air conditioning and different colors, a better development of the child with this condition will be achieved. "
Karenny Güílamo and Carmen Ariza authors of «Autism: Special Spaces. Residential Design Manual » the book can be viewed from HERE on Amazon.
Note: With this post we do not pretend to be the psychologists of architecture but we do show the guidelines and information about a world that on our part was totally unknown and as professionals we must recognize, know and understand.
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