Feel Good Design

The school was designed for 60 students with multiple disabilities, aged from 2 to 19. Each student has a combination of two or more of the following impairments: visual impairment, hearing impairment, mobility or cognitive impairment. Navigation & orientation within the building was of critical importance and a key factor in creating an environment that would encourage greater independence within each child. The concept of a sensory wall was developed in the circulation area as a navigational tool or device that would allow the children to move around the school with a level of freedom. The large sculptural units that make up the sensory wall also double as storage units in which the mobility training equipment required by the school is kept. The sensory wall is clad in cork, which has a warm tactile quality, and provides signifiers or messages along the route to confirm the children’s location within the school.