Home for the
Blind

The Guiding Wall was evaluated as the strongest project received for this competition. The project presents a considered and thoughtful approach to designing a space that provides security and a way-finding approach as well as an environment enhanced by sound, temperature, and contrast. The jury writes, “The project offers a nuanced design approach that does not solely rely on the guiding wall for differentiation of the spaces but caters to multiple senses at once in order to signal the transition of one space to the other and uniquely characterize each space. The proposal aptly addresses space planning and circulation with respect to a logical sequence of daily activities and brings attention to bright and high-contrast color-coding, materiality, lighting conditions and wet vs dry areas in the bathroom. Considerations would be needed for flexibility and diversity in the way an individual’s daily activities are sequences, minimizing the use of moveable furniture yet allowing customization, and for the possible integration of support technology into the environment. This scheme is a well-balanced, comprehensive design for a resident that is blind or with low vision, while being a delightful home for those with sight. It succeeds in providing a simple organizational structure with a logical flow that is built upon good common sense and a mature level of good “blind” common sense. It demonstrates a convincing development of multi-sensory place-making in each room with a great strategy of multi-sensory transitions between them.” 

Cause Every Step Counts is designed with a centripetal plan to lead an occupant through the home using the walls, which begin and end at the same location. The jury commented: “The design of this home is tremendously successful as a simple home to move through, orient within and hold in mind as a mental map or model. Additionally, the organization of the house is built around 3 distinct natural-living places that are sensory rich. With each end of the home opening to the wooded landscape and the centrally located sensory winter garden, each room has the potential to come to life with a dynamic rich experience that would evolve throughout the day and year. It is unclear, however, if the winter-garden has the potential to be opened to natural air, breezes and sounds when the weather permits but assuming that it is operable, it would have the potential to keep the house dynamic, fresh and sensorily rich throughout the year. Additionally, the entry approach and connection to the wooded landscape would make for a nice transition out from and a recognizable approach to the home without sight. Where the design excels, however, the text fails to live up to its promise. The text as a narrative explanation is an uncomfortable over-reach of excessive and ill-founded help and assistance - no matter how well intentioned it may be. Counting steps, especially within one’s own home, is not necessary or representative of contemporary blind orientation and mobility training and is not necessary within the knowable and intimate confines of a private domestic environment. The intentions behind these overt tactics would be better achieved through further development of the inherent spatial and experiential clarity through greater development of its multi-sensory design pallet. That said, the success of the plan and the overall sensory richness of the home truly excels as a rich, dynamic and respectful home for the blind when released from the overreach of the text.”

Barn Home was judged to be a design that has the essence of a terrific home for the blind, though the jury also had comments for why it fell short of achieving success. The jury writes: “The root of its restraint is in the relentless and uncompromising respect of the historic traditional stone walls of the structure. Limiting the windows as well as natural light and ventilation to a level above the average head-height creates an interior environment with little meaningful connection to the surrounding landscape and all the rich sensory experiences it has to offer. Creating an interior courtyard is a terrific design element but in and of itself is not sufficiently dynamic or rich to meaningfully enliven and sensorially animate the home despite the tremendous potential to welcome the scent, the sounds and the freshness of the vineyard into the interior spaces. Opening some portion of both ends of the stone wall enclosure would provide the relief necessary to realize the innate richness of this site while escaping the logical interpretation that the blind resident. Guests, for example, would not appreciate a view out or physical or sensory access to the vineyard. Once opened at either end, the logical next step would be to flip the locations of the bathroom with the bedroom as well as the living space with the kitchen - all of which would greatly improve the functioning of the plan as well as its sensory and direct connection to the landscape. Despite these challenges, the essential plan of the home is easily understood, navigated and lived in with or without sight. Challenging the apparent sacred integrity of the perimeter stone wall however, is the key toward realizing it this scheme true potential as an extraordinarily dynamic, sensory rich and exceptionally comfortable home for the blind.”