Image this — a faculty particularly designed to cater to the wants of these with visible disabilities. And bringing this to fruition is a faculty in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, setting the bar excessive for its inclusive architectural design.
With its distinctive development and considerate design, the college empowers youngsters to depend on their different senses to navigate via the academic house.
Adorned with white partitions and ethereal courtyards, ‘The Faculty for The Blind and Visually Impaired’, designed by SEALABS, is devoted to those explicit college students.
“Each visually impaired youngster has completely different wants, and we wished to create an area that was inclusive of all of them,” says Anand Sonecha, the architect of SEALABS, chatting with The Higher India.
So, how does this college assist its youngsters navigate? I’m glad you requested!
‘Discovered inspiration in lots of place’
Anand began his apply again in 2015 and had by no means labored on growing a faculty earlier than. “When Viren Joshi, the president of the college, approached me to take a look, I used to be very honoured. I used to be excited to get to the college and begin the designing course of,” he shares.
Explaining the concept behind the college, he says, “There was an present constructing however was in a nasty situation. It was a faculty for underprivileged youngsters with visible impairment.”
There have been two buildings — one was a hostel facility and the opposite one was the college. “In every room, twelve to fifteen college students have been residing in bunk beds. Consequently, a choice was made to assemble a brand new educational constructing and convert the present construction fully right into a hostel facility. This may enable for redistribution of scholars throughout the bottom and first flooring, whereas offering them with extra snug and improved residing areas.”
Whereas Anand was excited to get on board the venture, he lacked a supply of inspiration. To search out that, he determined to spend time with the children.
“I started observing how college students navigate via completely different locations and areas, figuring out their preferences and gathering spots. Moreover, I made buddies with college students to raised perceive their each day routines, likes, and dislikes throughout the present college. Equally, I engaged in discussions with lecturers to discover methods to reinforce the educational atmosphere,” he says.
Moreover, Anand additionally began to go to colleges for kids with visible impairment throughout the nation.
“The Victoria Memorial Faculty for the Blind in Mumbai left a long-lasting impression on me due to its exceptional magnificence, regardless of being an adaptively reused constructing. Nevertheless, I discovered only a few good examples of faculties particularly designed for customers with disabilities. Consequently, I later volunteered on the Perkins Faculty for the Blind in Massachusetts, one of many oldest colleges in the US. Established in 1829, it boasts a wealthy historical past with stalwarts like Helen Keller, Laura Bridgman, and Anne Sullivan who all studied there,” he says.
He discovered fantastic mentors within the US and was capable of finding the precise path for the venture.
“After I went out in search of inspiration, I realised the way it was not one place that might assist me however quite a bit. Visiting varied colleges was an ideal studying arc for me,” he says.
Utilizing 5 senses to navigate
The varsity is designed to be navigated with the assistance of 4 senses: sight, listening to, contact, and scent.
“Solely 15% of individuals with blindness expertise a whole lack of sight. Nearly all of people who’re blind might understand mild or color, and people with completely different impairments have various levels of usable imaginative and prescient,” he says.
Retaining this in thoughts, Anand designed a faculty that makes use of color, scent, and light-weight to tell apart every class.
Contact:
“We employed 5 various kinds of wall plasters and textures for college kids to determine areas. Moreover, for ease of navigation, we utilised completely different textures on the ground, incorporating tough and easy Kota stone, which marks the entry factors of the school rooms,” he says.
Every space classroom, hall, and courtyard within the college is marked and written in Braille.
Listening to:
For an additional navigation approach that utilises listening to, Anand varies the volumes and heights of the buildings, creating completely different echoes and sounds to help college students in figuring out locations.
“For example, the doorway of the college includes a broad and tall quantity, whereas the alternative facet has a shorter quantity and is narrower. This distinction in width and top produces a definite echo in comparison with the doorway. College students, as a part of their coaching, stroll, discuss, and even clap to practise utilizing completely different methods for figuring out areas,” he says.
Sight:
To make navigation straightforward for college kids who can understand color in mild, he used completely different colors.
“On condition that many low imaginative and prescient college students are learning within the college, one other side we needed to take into account was utilizing contrasting colors and lighting to assist college students determine objects, furnishings, and areas,” he says.
He provides, “For example, every classroom door is brightly painted, the doorway is in a special shiny color, and the bathroom doorways are painted in contrasting but vibrant colors. This method ensures that college students with low imaginative and prescient can readily determine and find vital components, such because the switchboard.”
Scent:
Moreover, to make the school rooms much more distinctive from one another, the architect determined to have interaction the sense of scent.
He says, “We now have additionally planted fragrant crops at entries, which might help college students in marking and figuring out locations. These components function completely different clues integrated into our design. College students, based mostly on their consolation and understanding, use these clues to navigate the constructing.”
Inclusive, sustainable and a haven for the scholars
There are 5 particular lecture rooms and 7 lecture rooms with particular person courtyards within the college.
“The furnishings association was additionally essential, and the form and dimension of the school rooms developed based mostly on how college students would sit. To make sure equal consideration from the instructor, we designed a ‘C’ formed seating association the place every scholar is in shut proximity to the instructor,” he says.
Anand additionally believed that the kids also needs to get the prospect to be taught open air, therefore he included the courtyards.
“We additionally recognised that studying doesn’t solely occur throughout the classroom however extends past its partitions. Contemplating this, the presence of courtyards grew to become essential. Along with their instructional significance, there have been sensible causes for incorporating courtyards,” he shares.
“The realm experiences a sizzling and dry local weather, which could be difficult for college kids with low imaginative and prescient delicate to direct mild. To handle this, we ensured that the courtyard offers filtered mild to the school rooms,” he provides.
Oblique mild was a big concern because the architect aimed to offer a cushty studying atmosphere for low-vision college students with minimal glare.
“To guard the low-vision college students from direct mild glare, we determined to deliver daylight from the roof and never from home windows,” he says.
A haven for its college students, the college is also sustainable in its roots. “We determined to be very frugal with what we have been utilizing. We used solely locally-sourced supplies comparable to Kota stone and planted greater than 1,000 crops of 37 completely different varieties,” he says.
Anand defined that he planted the shrubs to draw butterflies and birds, and to diversify and enhance the pure atmosphere.
A standard rainwater harvesting approach referred to as Khambhati Kuva (Percolation properly) was carried out. The properly, with a diameter of 10 toes and a depth of 30 toes, is designed to gather rainwater and recharge the bottom. This properly can soak up 45,000 to 60,000 litres of water in only one hour.
Up and operating since 2021, Anand says wanting again at his work, “As an expert, I method all tasks with the identical depth. Nevertheless, engaged on this venture was distinctive. In our architectural schooling, we had by no means delved into questions on customers to this extent. It opened my eyes to the realisation that in designing any constructing, be it public buildings or complete cities, we should take into account a various set of customers, guaranteeing that none are excluded.”
He provides, “The lesson of inclusivity that I realized from this expertise has profoundly influenced my method to new tasks, the place I attempt to include the dear insights gained from the college venture.”
(Edited by Padmashree Pande)
(All picture credit score: SEALABS)
