My sketch of what the CUB looked like when I was visually impaired
When doing the vision impairment workshop it was really interesting to experience the word of the blind. It was scary almost to move around the CUB not knowing what exactly was around me like I usually do.
The floor was too bright from the glare of the florescent lights, there was no contrast between the floor and walls, or anything else really. Columns blended in to the walls, people blurred together, and machines and other things used on a daily basis became great obstacles that I have to maneuver through and around. I think a lot more could have been done in the design to make our world more accessible to people with visual impairment, after all most people have failing eyesight at some point in their lives.
With out everyone being able to interact in the built environment we lose a sense of diversity and people with vision impairments become irregular, or strange. If everyone with a disability was able to function properly in our built environment, imagine the possibilities of our world... There would be so much less discrimination due to peoples physical abilities. This was really helpful and I feel it will help me create a place more suitable for a visually impaired person in my depot design.
Lauren--you are absolutely right. Much more work needs to be done in building or altering environments to make them accessible for people with disabilites. On AFB Senior Site (afb.org/seniorsite/changingyourhome,we have developed suggestions to make every room in the house easier and safer to get around for people with vision loss. We have incorporated color, contrast, organizational, and texture changes as well as suggestions about good lighting and glare control. Check out the video "Changing Your Home" and the graphics that show good and bad contrast examples for the kitchen and bath. Thanks again for your great contribution!
ReplyDeleteAmerican Foundation for the Blind Senior Site Staff