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 kids to depend on their different senses to navigate via the tutorial 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 baby 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, talking to The Higher India.
So, how does this faculty assist its kids navigate? I’m glad you requested!
‘Discovered inspiration in lots of place’
Anand began his observe 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 current constructing however was in a foul situation. It was a faculty for underprivileged kids 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 had been residing in bunk beds. Consequently, a call was made to assemble a brand new tutorial constructing and convert the present construction fully right into a hostel facility. This could enable for redistribution of scholars throughout the bottom and first flooring, whereas offering them with extra comfy 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 youngsters.
“I started observing how college students navigate via completely different locations and areas, figuring out their preferences and gathering spots. Moreover, I made mates with college students to raised perceive their each day routines, likes, and dislikes throughout the current faculty. Equally, I engaged in discussions with academics to discover methods to boost 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 an enduring impression on me due to its outstanding magnificence, regardless of being an adaptively reused constructing. Nonetheless, I discovered only a few good examples of colleges particularly designed for customers with disabilities. Because of this, 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 course 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 rather a lot. Visiting varied colleges was an amazing studying arc for me,” he says.
Utilizing 5 senses to navigate
The college is designed to be navigated with the assistance of 4 senses: sight, listening to, contact, and odor.
“Solely 15% of individuals with blindness expertise an entire lack of sight. Nearly all of people who’re blind could understand gentle or color, and people with completely different impairments have various levels of usable imaginative and prescient,” he says.
Protecting this in thoughts, Anand designed a faculty that makes use of color, odor, and lightweight to differentiate every class.
Contact:
“We employed 5 several types 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 lecture rooms,” he says.
Every space classroom, hall, and courtyard within the faculty is marked and written in Braille.
Listening to:
For one more navigation method 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.
“As an illustration, the doorway of the college contains a vast and tall quantity, whereas the other facet has a shorter quantity and is narrower. This distinction in width and peak 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 strategies for figuring out areas,” he says.
Sight:
To make navigation straightforward for college kids who can understand color in gentle, he used completely different colors.
“Provided that many low imaginative and prescient college students are learning within the faculty, one other side we needed to think about was utilizing contrasting colors and lighting to assist college students determine objects, furnishings, and areas,” he says.
He provides, “As an illustration, every classroom door is brightly painted, the doorway is in a special vibrant color, and the bathroom doorways are painted in contrasting but vibrant colors. This strategy ensures that college students with low imaginative and prescient can readily determine and find necessary components, such because the switchboard.”
Scent:
Moreover, to make the lecture rooms much more distinctive from one another, the architect determined to have interaction the sense of odor.
He says, “We’ve got additionally planted fragrant vegetation at entries, which might help college students in marking and figuring out locations. These components function completely different clues included into our design. College students, primarily based on their consolation and understanding, use these clues to navigate the constructing.”
Inclusive, sustainable and a haven for the scholars
There are 5 particular school rooms and 7 school rooms with particular person courtyards within the faculty.
“The furnishings association was additionally essential, and the form and measurement of the lecture rooms developed primarily based on how college students would sit. To make sure equal consideration from the instructor, we designed a ‘C’ formed seating association the place every pupil is in shut proximity to the instructor,” he says.
Anand additionally believed that the youngsters must also get the prospect to be taught outdoor, 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 turned essential. Along with their academic significance, there have been sensible causes for incorporating courtyards,” he shares.
“The world experiences a scorching and dry local weather, which may be difficult for college kids with low imaginative and prescient delicate to direct gentle. To deal with this, we ensured that the courtyard offers filtered gentle to the lecture rooms,” he provides.
Oblique gentle was a major concern because the architect aimed to supply a cushty studying atmosphere for low-vision college students with minimal glare.
“To guard the low-vision college students from direct gentle glare, we determined to convey 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 had been utilizing. We used solely locally-sourced supplies corresponding to Kota stone and planted greater than 1,000 vegetation 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 method often known as Khambhati Kuva (Percolation nicely) was applied. The nicely, with a diameter of 10 ft and a depth of 30 ft, is designed to gather rainwater and recharge the bottom. This nicely can take in 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 strategy all initiatives with the identical depth. Nonetheless, engaged on this venture was distinctive. In our architectural training, 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 whole cities, we should think about a various set of customers, making certain that none are excluded.”
He provides, “The lesson of inclusivity that I discovered from this expertise has profoundly influenced my strategy to new initiatives, the place I attempt to include the precious insights gained from the college venture.”
(Edited by Padmashree Pande)
(All picture credit score: SEAlabs)
