Centre for Visually ImpairedAnkit Kapoor | 12AR10005

Under the Guidance of Prof. Uttam Kumar Banerjee

A sighted person judges the blind not for what they are but by the fear that blindness inspires

-Pierre Valley

Project Brief

•To propose a vocational training & healthcare centre for an organization whose primary objective is to empowerment of visually impaired individuals.

•A centre that will approve the living standards of Blind and low vision people.

Aims•To convert the Tax-users into Taxpayers

•To produce Job Opportunities for the visually impaired.

•To provide exposure to such individuals.

Objectives• The goal is to provide equal opportunities for people with visual disability.

• To provide better Medical facilities

• Provide Financial Assistance and Education to people with disability.

• Providing rehabilitation facilities for the newly blind

Scope• Barrier Free Design

• Tactile Marking

• Innovative Structural System (Column free Design)

• Spatial organisation

• Lighting Design

• Safety & Security

• Circulation Fluidity

• Materials Study (with different Textures)

• Contrasting Colour Scheme

Literature Review

Overview• According to 2001 census India has a

population of 21 Million people which are Physically handicapped out of which 48% are Visually Impaired.

• A latest Times of India survey reports that out of 37 million blind people worldwide 12 million people reside in India.

• 75% of the above cases are avoidable.

• Researches have shown that 85-90% development of human brain is credited to Visuals.

Visually48%

Movement28%

Mental11%

Speech7%

Hearing6%

DIFFERENTLY DISABLED

What is Low Vision?People who suffer from a severe reduction in vision that cannot be corrected with conventional means , such as refractive correction or medication and reduces a person's ability to function at certain or all tasks.

Measuring VisionEye care professionals measures vision according to 2 main Standards:

Measurement Standards

Vision Clarity Snellen chart

Visual Field Degree

CategorizationThe World Health Organization (WHO) defines impaired vision in 5 categories:

1• Low vision 1: is a best corrected visual acuity of 20/70.

2• Low vision 2: starts at 20/200.

3• Blindness 3: is below 20/400 or visual field between 5° and 10°.

4• Blindness 4: is worse than 5/300 or visual field less than 5°.

5 • Blindness 5: is no light perception at all.

PWD Act In India According to the PWD act (Person With Disability Act) an individual with 40% or more visual incapability is stated as Visually Impaired

In other words your vision is like this

Eye Diseases causing such Impairment

Retinal Detachment

Genetic Disorder

Damaged Optic Nerve

Night Blindness

Tubular Vision

Peripheral vision

Squinting Of Eye

Lasik Problem

Glaring Problem

Pigmentation Problem

Cat’s eye

Tinted Eye

Design ConsiderationsIn relation to the to design considerations Visually impaired people are divided into 2 categories:

Visually impaired

Low vision people:

when they use buildings, rely on their partial ability to see.

Blind people:

when they use buildings rely entirely on other senses, ie. touch, hearing, smell and touch.

Design considerations for Visually impaired people include the following elements of built environments:

BuiltEnvironment

Lighting Colour Texture Acoustic Smell Signage

No GlareNo ReflectionNo Shadows

70% colour contrast accepted generally

Material Texture to be detected by foot or cane

Positioning well defined acoustic items

Recognizing by Smell, mainly used in sensory garden

SignageTactile guiding path is required to ensure visualize impaired person familiarize with the road and path and is avoided from the flow of vehicular movement.

Braille & Handrail Design•Handrail to ramp or step shall be between 35mm to 50mm

•The top of handrail height shall lie between 850 mm 950mm

•Handrails should be tubular and its external diameter between 40mm & 50mm

•Braille and tactile information to be provided on handrail to facilitate low vision people

•Directional signs to be marked on handrails to

AnthropometryThe primary considerations in the design of school facility serving disabled children or adults focus on four major principles:

1. The range of movement available to most physically disabled people

2. The strength of the physically disabled subject

3. The dimensions of prosthetic devices especially wheelchairs must be considered

4. Due to the fact that many prosthetic devices including canes, wheelchairs braces and crutches are made of hard materials ,materials that show minimum sign of wear and tear should be used

Case StudiesInstitute of Blind, Mexico

Institute of Blind, Budapest

Hazelwood School, Glasgow

Institute of Blind, Mexico

Institute of Blind, Mexico

The Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired was created as part of a program by the Mexico City government to provide services to one of the most disadvantaged and highly-populated areas of the city; Iztapalapa is the district with the largest visually impaired population in the Mexican capital.

Architects: Mauricio RochaLocation: Mexico City, D.F., MexicoArchitect: Mauricio RochaLandscape Architect: Jerónimo HagermanStructure: Grupo Sai.Area: 14000 sqmProject Year: 2001

Building Features

• The 14,000 sqm complex is on corner plot bordered by two avenues.

• A blind wall encircles the complex on its four sides and acts as an acoustic barrier as well as a retaining wall/blank to hold the earth moved from neighbouring wasteland areas.

• In contrast to the abstract exterior, the internal facade of the boundary wall creates banks that change shape, height, and orientation, thus creating various courtyards.

Building Plan

• The floor plan, meanwhile, can be read as a series of filters which stretch out from the entrance in parallel strips.

• The first filter is the building that houses the administrative offices, cafeteria, and utility area.

Entry

Building Plan• The second consists of two

parallel lines of buildings organized symmetrically along a central plaza. These buildings contain a store, a sound and touch gallery and five arts and crafts workshops.

• The third filter has the classrooms facing the gardens and the most private courtyards.

• Perpendicular to the entrance, a series of double-height volumes house the library, gymnasium-auditorium, and swimming pool.

Dressing Room

Room Of Machines

Library Cafeteria AdministrativeBlock

Central PlazaWith Water Channel

Classrooms

• A single storey building.

• The Centre aims to enhance spatial perception, cultivating the five senses as experience and source of information.

• A water channel runs through the centre of the plaza, so that the sound of the water guides users along their way.

•Horizontal and vertical lines in the concrete at hand height offer tactile clues to identify each building.

•The Luminance of the building was increased drastically by using glass facades to harness natural lighting to the maximum.

•Six types of fragrant plants and flowers in the perimeter gardens act as constant sensors to help orientate users within the complex.

Institute for the Blind, Budapest

Institute for the Blind, Budapest

The institute was founded in 1898, Budapest. Most of the children who are living here have multiple disadvantages. There are blinds, disableds, mentally retardeds, and most of them are orphans. The state supports them until the age of 18. After this age they have no place to go to.

Architects: A4 StudioLocation: Budapest, HungaryArchitect: Géza Kendik, Zoltán Papp,

Orsolya Maza, ViktóriaDóczy, Sándor Gombár

Constructor: Grabarics KftArea: 1500 sqmProject Year: 2015

It provides services to 250 blind students between the age 3 and 18. The institute provides the following services:

National Board of Assessment and Rehabilitation

Kindergarten ,Pre-school and General school from grade 1 to year 8

Special Vocational and Training School

Methodology Institute and Resource Centre for integrated children

Boarding School

Services Offered

Building FeaturesThe A4 Studio designed the home of the below 18 children. The new building is connected to the existing one, with a bridge. In the first two floors of the 5 storey building are the common spaces, activity rooms and the dining room. In the 3 upper floors are the bedrooms.

Designed Building

Bridge

Existing Building

Site Plan

Building Features•There aim was a simple, safe and user friendly building, which serves the life of the children.

•Most of the corridors get natural light, which helps the orientation of the blinds. The strong light transmission is reduced by the perforated metal sheets.

•These sheets are placed in front of the large glass surfaces. The perforation is formed from braille subtitles, with the following words: trust, home, shelter and love.

•Size and location of the windows are different in every bedroom, which can also help the orientation for the kids.

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Living Floor Plan

Section

Observations• The circulation plan is been kept in a linear format so as to create less hindrances

and provide visual access.

• The linear organisation increases the chance of repetition of spaces which in turn helps in fast learning of users

• The architects maximises the inlet of Natural lighting by punching as many windows as possible in façade

• Further these windows were covered by perforated sheets so as direct light (which will be a problem to low vision people)

Hazelwood School, GlasgowThe Game Changer!

Hazelwood School, Glasgow

Hazelwood provides accommodation for a maximum of 60 pupils, aged 3-18 years. The school snakes through the parkland site, forming gentle curves around the existing mature trees. The single story structure is built in natural materials

Architects: Gordon Murray + Alan Dunlop ArchitectsLocation: Glasgow, ScotlandArchitect: Gordon Murray, Alan Dunlop, Stacy Philips, Fergal FeenyLandscape Architect: Richard EastStructure: Paul McCroreyArea: 2660 sqmProject Year: 2007Client: Glasgow City Council Education Services

Main Features of the School

• The realization that the project was all about light, not darkness, "Because the children can distinguish light and dark, as well as colours. So contrast and colour play an important role in the design

• The school contains eleven (11) classrooms in a single story structure, providing nursery through secondary education

• The distinctive curving interior spine meets the complex demands for an intuitive way finding system

• Design of the games hall, trampoline area, and hydrotherapy pool created opportunities for children to explore, extend their skills, and gain confidence

Plan

Entry

The curved form of the building reduces the visual scale of the main circulation spaces and helps remove the institutional feel that a single long corridor might create

Design features

•The unique sensory “trail rail wall” weaves throughout the school and enables children to practice mobility and orientation skills

•The trail rail wall is clad in cork, and has a warm feel

•It provides signifiers or tactile cues to assist children with orientation and navigation through the school

•Within two weeks of exposure to the trail wall system, they were successfully moving around the building independently.

•The Architect also creates hindrance, to train the students better.

•Corridors are designed as streets, which also assist with orientation and mobility.

•High-level windows are used to reduce distraction.

•Classrooms are oriented north and open onto the quietist part of the grounds, the classroom garden spaces

•The structural glulam* timber frame casts shadows within the building to establish a clear pattern along the internal street of the school

Distinctive Features•The playground and playground furnishings enable children the freedom to play and take risks at their own level

•A sensory garden attributed with walkways, play yard, swings create a park-like setting for the school grounds.

The Focus Learning Room

The focus-learning rooms offer viewing for staff and visitors without disturbing the children. These areas also offer quiet time as needed

Life Skill HouseA separate residential unit, is used to teach the children basic life skills but also provides respite accommodation.

SectionMaterials used on the roof-

Timber Brick

Zinc Glass

Site VisitSusrut Eye foundation centre

Lighthouse for the Blind

Susrut Eye Foundation & Research Centre, Kolkata

Susrut Eye Foundation & Research Centre

Susrut Eye foundation is an advanced ophthalmology eye care institution hospital in Kolkata and was founded in the year 1998.

Founders: Dr. Sunil Chandra Bagchi & Dr. RatishAddress: HB-36/A/1, Sector III, Salt Lake CityLocation: KolkataArea: 900 sqm (approx.)Project Year: 1998

About the Centre

•The centre is run by a private organisation with collaboration with many NGO’s.

•A 7 storey building dedicated to eye treatment, education and few other auxiliary spaces.

•The Centre is divided into 2 buildings the administrative block and the eye clinic.

•The centre has the capability of doing major & minor operations such as squint eye, cataract, cat’s eye etc.

•Research Centre in finalisation stages. (for ammoluar eye)

•Centre also houses an ophthalmologist school.

•Also Provides services such as Lasik surgeries.

Vertical Zoning

• Class Rooms, Library, HR Dept., RSBY (Govt.)6th Floor

• Guest House5th floor

• Optometrist Room, Wet Lab Training Room, Lasik Dept.4th floor

• Optometrist Room, Projector Room, USG, OCT, DFA services3rd Floor

• Pediatric Ophthalmology, Squint Correction, Vision Rehabilitation, Early Intervention, refraction2nd floor

• General Ophthalmology, Glaucoma Clinic, Retina Clinic, Cataract Clinic1st floor

• Reception, canteen, Susrut opticiansGround floor

Schematic Plan

SusrutOptician’s

Elevator

Staircase

ServiceElevator

ServiceZone

Reception Area

Sitting Space

Canteen

Staircase

Entry

Ground Floor

Circulation Space

Schematic Plan

Elevator Staircase

ServiceElevator

Refraction Room

Reception Area

Waiting Area

Ophthalmologist’s Room

First Floor

Staircase

Optometrician'sRoom

Waiting Area

Kid’s Play Area

Ophthalmologists Room

Street Lamp Setup

for Kids

Guest House CorridorRefraction room(Dim Lighting)

Lasik Department

Building features

Automated Doors Information Kiosks Tactile Markings

Eye Treatment

For below 18 years

Hand Magnifier Dome Magnifier Bar Magnifier AD Magnifier(For age 12+)

Eye Treatment

For 18+ years

Telescope(Monopolar Instrument, used for distant vision)

Portable Magnifier(HD camera with 4.3″ LCD, used for reading)

Instruments used In Treatment

Telescope Haze Chart Trial Box Lea Symbol Chart

Requirements for a Primary Eye Care CentreOphthalmologist Room

Optometrist Room

Refraction Room

Operating Rooms for Retinoscope (Needs a Dark room) Street Lamp Auto Refractor Meter Lensometer Opthonoscope

--: Dio--: Io (Needs a Dark room)

Auxilliary Spacessuch as reception Area, Lift Lobby, Toilets, Administration office etc.

Lighthouse for the Blind

Lighthouse for the Blind, Kolkata

Lighthouse for the Blind was established in 1941 and came under the control of West Bengal Government in the year 1963 but govt. stated to fund t in 1990. Presently it functions to provide Education and Rehabilitation to the Blind.

Address: No. 174, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rd, Near Taligand P.S, Kalighat

Location: KolkataArea: 800 sqm (approx.)Project Year: 1941

About the Centre•The centre is run both by the state government and the community donations.

•The school provides education till 12th standard and follows West Bengal Board

•One of the few schools in Kolkata which provides Senior Secondary education.

•The centre also provides boarding facilities to the students.

•The centre also houses an adult blind school.

•The centre conducts workshop for cardboard boxes and sheet making and also houses a warehouse for the same.

•14 Blind people were currently working at the warehouse on a permanent payroll.

•Centre provides vocational training for the blind apart from counselling.

Types of Vocational Training Provided

Sensory Training

Sided-Guide Technique

Music Instrumental

Mobility Training

Cane Training

Outdoor & Indoor Techniques

Computer Training (JAWS & DAISY)

Braille Reading

Spaces DistributionThe Centre is divided in 4 Blocks

Block A

• Ground floor Principal’s Office Administrative Block

• Ist & IInd Floor Rented to PnB Bank

• IIIrd Floor Auditorium

Block B

• Ground floor Cardboard Warehouse Future Expansion Space

• Ist Floor Staff Room Class room’s

• IInd Floor Class Room’s

Block C

• Ground floor Old office

• Ist FloorMusic Room Computer room Library

• IInd Floor Female Dormitories

Block D

• Ground floor Dining Hall

• Ist & IIndFloorMale Dormitories

Circulation Space

Block D Block C

Block A

Block B

Entry

SchematicPlan

Warehouse

ClassroomsEach Class consists of 12-15 Blind or Low Vision Students.

Library could be maintained at a better level as the bulky braille manuscripts were getting damaged

Library

Music Room

A students demonstrates how the Braille Pad is used.

Computer Room

Dining Hall

Observations•Lack in Tactile Design

•No Open Space provided for the Kids even when the centre is functioning as a boarding school

•No Medical Care

•Better Lighting could be introduced in classrooms

•Spaces especially circulation spaces should be designed according to there mobility training.

Area Statement (Proposed)Space Area (sq. m) No. Total Area

Class Room’s 90 6 540

Dining hall 120 1 120

Computer Room 80 1 80

Library 100 1 100

VisAbility Store 36 1 36

Seminar Room 150 1 150

Exhibition Area 50 1 50

Dark Restaurent 120 1 120

Parking 150 1 150

Toilets 10 4 40

Total 1386

Total With Circulation Space 25% 1682.5

Blind School

Area Statement (Proposed)Space Area (sq. m) No. Total Area

Administarive office 60 1 60

Principal’s office 36 1 36

Director’s Cabin 36 1 36

Store 15 1 15

Waiting lobby 25 1 25

Toilets 10 2 20

Total 192

Total With Circulation Space 15% 220.8

Administrative Block

Area Statement (Proposed)Space Area (sq. m) No. Total Area

Ophthalmologist Room 30 1 30

Optometrist Room 30 1 30

Refraction Room 25 1 25

Retinoscope & Io Opthonoscope room

25 1 25

Street Lamp & Auto Refractor Meter

25 1 25

Lensometer & OpthonoscopeDio

25 1 25

Toilets 10 2 20

Total 180

Total With Circulation Space 25% 225

Eye Clinic

Area Statement (Proposed)

Space Area (sq. m)

Site Area 1600

Ground Coverage 40%

Ground Coverage Area 640

Built Up Area 1978.3

FAR (approx.) 1.23

Overall Area Statement

Site

Site- Rajarhat, Kolkata

Features-

Site Area- 1600 sqm.

FAR (approx.)- 1.23

Bibliography•Case Study of Hazelwood School by Osut

•Handbook for Barrier Free by CPWD

•Access Design for the Blind

•Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. 2007-03-22.

•http://accessforblind.org

•http://www.idsa.org/sites/default/files/Designing%20Blind.pdf

•https://www.archsd.gov.hk/archsd/html/ua/05-Chapter5.pdf

•BFE class

Thank You!For Hearing.