Joan Love

Archnet-IJAR, Volume 12 - Issue 3 - November 2018 - (152-169) – Regular Section

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research

www.archnet-ijar.net/ -- https://archnet.org/collections/34

SENSORY SPACES: SENSORY LEARNING – AN EXPERIMENTAL

APPROACH TO EDUCATING FUTURE DESIGNERS TO DESIGN
AUTISM SCHOOLS
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26687/archnet-ijar.v12i3.1704

Joan Love

Keywords Abstract

autism schools; sensory Universities and design schools have a responsibility to ensure
environment; design that the education of future designers enables design for
education; interior special populations, in this case specifically children with
architecture; student autism. This paper presents a case study of an autism defined
experience experimental teaching-led design project, within a first-year
university Interior Architecture course, on which the author is a
tutor. It draws on the author’s extensive working knowledge of
autism issues, incorporating mediation between SEN schools
and design students, and employing research informed
teaching. The project involves a new local free school for
autism, at a temporary site. The experiment is designed to
challenge students, emphasising the importance of
understanding how primary research, accessed directly from
the end users, informs progressive design thinking. It attempts
to influence their design work in subsequent years at university
ArchNet-IJAR is indexed and and in practice, and facilitate bridging the gap between
listed in several databases, academic research and real-life application. This paper seeks
including: to identify how an autism defined project, focussed on student-
centred learning and encompassing choosing sessions with
• Avery Index to Architectural children with ASD, can be taught in the first year of
Periodicals
undergraduate study. Further, it aims to analyse how the
• EBSCO-Current Abstracts-Art
teaching styles and content of a partially ‘live’ community
and Architecture
design project impact on the participants. This is achieved by
• CNKI: China National
Knowledge Infrastructure
describing the details and challenges of the project together
with the interactions between the students and the school. It
• DOAJ: Directory of Open
Access Journals concludes that the project adds value to the student
• Pro-Quest experience, builds student confidence and eliminates pre-
conceived ideas surrounding autism. It shows that design can
• Scopus-Elsevier
be an interactive process between university and special
• Web of Science
schools. Equally, the pitfalls of a live project of this nature are
highlighted, as is the need for modification before similar
projects are reproducible as viable educational models.

Joan Love
School of Art, Architecture + Design, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS2 9EN, United Kingdom.

Corresponding author’s email address: j.love@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 152

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International Journal of Architectural Research

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INTRODUCTION

The government has published design guidelines encompassing the environment within
schools (A&BB, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2015) for those with autism (also known as Autistic
Spectrum Disorder or ASD). However, particularly in respect of earlier versions, these have
been challenged as inadequate, and alternative approaches have been proposed or
endorsed by the NAS (National Autistic Society) and by architects Vogel (2008), Scott (2009:
36-51), McAllister & Maguire (2012:103–112), Mostafa (2008: 189-211, 2014: 143-158). The
latest version (A&BB, 2015) recognises the needs for alternative spaces for autism to some
extent, but is still limited in its advice for designing autism environments, concentrating on
provision for general special needs and net areas of buildings. This paper does not seek to
augment these developing approaches. Rather, it explores and champions an experimental
teaching-led design project which discourages any preconceived ideas on autism and
transfers knowledge to design students who have an important role in the future of designing
for people with autism.

The first year of study provides educators with the primary opportunity to mould and
stimulate creativity (Saxton, 1981) and for early intervention in design thinking (Temple,
2010) as part of the design process. Inspirational teaching from day one is essential to hold
interest and set a pace, allowing core skills and the design process to feed subsequent
years. In the project described, first year university design students learn about pedagogy
informing the design of space which, in turn, enriches shifting sensory environments through
their proposals. This project responds to the call for a ‘trans-critical’ pedagogy in design
education, applying knowledge found through real social issues (Salama, 2015). Centrally
recognised is that ‘reliable and unbiased knowledge about client requirements, along with
user needs and behaviour, are also important in improving design quality and performance.
A structured process (i.e. a research process) is most effective in gaining this knowledge’
(Collins, 2014:3). The need for integrated evidence-based live projects is discussed by many
(Kolb, 1984; Harriss & Widder, 2014) but more complex problems within our marginalised
contemporary societies (Salama, 2015) demand further investigation.

The primary goal is to enable the students to explore different types of design thinking by
investigating all options and reconsidering possibilities regarding the way schools for autism
are designed. This exposes them to a deeper understanding of a design brief as well as
forming a real connection and sensitivity towards inclusive design (Scott et al, 2018:9-22)
and the end users. The research places a greater emphasis on the individual (Williams,
1996) in our growing autism society (NAS, 2018), with the aim of helping these children to
access learning more effectively, having their voices heard and eventually improving
integration with the world around them (WRD, 2011). The requirement for community
engagement to establish a two-way collaboration (Sara & Jones, 2018; Bernardi &
Kowaltowski, 2010) is paramount if we want to understand the true needs of users. This
subsequently communicates to students the importance of re-evaluating any preconceived
design histories, enabling students to unlock first-hand information.

This paper describes a case study of an experimental teaching-led design project, evaluating
its methodology and the challenges it presents. A future paper will review how those
challenges were addressed in four subsequent projects based on the design of an autism
school together with the design outcomes of all five projects.

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Orchestration

The paper is split into four key sections:

Part One: Scope of project.
Part Two: Direct participation, working alongside children with autism undertaking
“choosing” sessions.
Part Three: Presentation of the design outcomes to the children and SEN (Special
Educational Needs) teachers. A critique of this educational model through feedback.
Part Four: Teaching reflections, recommendations and conclusion.

PART ONE: SCOPE OF PROJECT

The vehicle and evidence for this research is a studio-based project to design a small school
for autism, for children aged 11-19, attempting to integrate adaptable sensory spaces. The
part ‘live’, part ‘hypothetical’ project nurtures creative thinking and targeted research, under
the close supervision of an art-school trained design tutor, who has a working knowledge of
autism, and a tutor who has experience of school design within architecture.

Designing spaces appropriately for people with autism has many challenges. This paper
takes the teaching stance that students of art and design are recommended to adopt a
flexibility of thinking in their design proposals and consider them as fluid, ‘work in progress’
rather than as a fixed definition or destination. This reflects the early stages of professional
design practice and the ever-changing knowledge base (NAS, 2018) of this highly complex,
forever diverse condition.

The main springboard for the student design projects has been ASD children, the knowledge
of people with autism, primarily Grandin (2008), Lawson (1998), Blackburn (2004), and the
valuable knowledge of SEN teachers. The focus is on sensory processing issues
(Bogdashina, 2003), (Biel and Peske, 2005), and how designers can be responsive to these
disorders through exploring and interpreting the design of spaces. This encompasses the
balance of knowledge-based concepts with an open-ended creative approach to process,
expressed primarily through drawings and three-dimensional model making.

Teaching methodology: a design project as a case study

The part live project sidesteps the ‘traditional approach to studio teaching’ (Salama,
2015:75). It demands a focussed, deep level of critical thinking, research and understanding
of a complex social issue, exposure to users, prioritising real human needs, ‘learning through
discovery’ (MacDermott et al, 2012:77), and merging knowledge with application, to avoid
possible contradiction between theory and practice. The students see first-hand that the
design process shifts and changes owing to external factors, some of which are controllable,
some not.

Various constraints determined how the project could be implemented. It was to be a

teaching led research project with a real focus, and with design students visiting autism
schools, without causing sensory overload or disturbance to the children. To be manageable,
only a small group of students could be assigned to this particular brief, but equally it had to
fit in with the staffing, number of tutorials, module outcomes and supporting lecture series in
the existing course. To achieve this, an overarching brief used the same building and the

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same time span, but was divided into 8 main briefs, 4-6 students per group, one of these
groups being carefully selected students to undertake the design for autism brief.

Selection of students to undertake the project

Four design students from 40 were selected for the autism project, to be run in Semester 2 of
first year, their suitability having been assessed in Semester 1, when fundamental design
skills were being established. Their strengths, weaknesses, and ‘fit’ could be ascertained
from the presentation of the students’ second design project which used an existing building.
The autism project requires a high level of commitment, a strong work ethic and a desire to
be challenged. Its success is founded on students not falling at the first fence, but there is
limited time to evaluate their track record. Two of the four students proved to be very strong
and this was enough to enable the project to flourish.

Effective ways of knowledge transfer to the students:

1 Briefing. From day one, it is critical to undertake a full and detailed briefing to kick
start the design process including an introduction to autism. Although given
autonomy, students were encouraged to focus on the areas of hypo and hyper
sensitivity, i.e. acoustics, light, touch, proprioception, vestibular, and transitioning
between spaces. This fast track approach is required to accelerate student
understanding in a complex project requiring major tutorial support and no time to
waste.

2 Using film to engage. Temple Grandin’s film ‘Thinking in Pictures’ was issued in
advance of the briefing to assist in giving the students a grounding prior to the start of
the project. Understanding how a narrative relates to travelling through interior space
is a vital part of the course, and this film is an ideal example of how environments
affect how people feel and can help to inspire a design approach.

3 Accessing research. Varied research recommendations were issued, to respond to

different learning styles; for instance, in addition to books authored by people with
autism such as Grandin (2008) and sensory expert Bogdashina (2003), online
resources were suggested, which can be more accessible to visual learners. These
include Lawson’s website (2018) and Bogdashina’s online PowerPoint (2014), both of
which provide clearly defined information. A key breakthrough was introducing the
YouTube clip with Amanda Baggs’ ‘In my own words’ (2007), communicating an
understanding that non-verbal does not necessarily mean at the low-functioning end
of the spectrum. The clip also illustrates that the most informed research is from
those with autism, and how, as designers, students need to try to understand the
world from their viewpoint.

4 Peer to peer learning. This is critical, as the subject area of autism is too large to
cover in a short time. Students focus within specialisms and bring acquired
knowledge to tutorials for discussion and feedforward, followed by fortnightly studio
group pin ups for formative feedback. Sharing the information with the group also
enhances an appreciation of diversity in the ASD children.

5 Online working group. This enables sharing of ideas, design precedent images,
references, trouble shooting, and general communication. Subject specific reading

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and research material is targeted at individual design students, and 24/7 access
assisted with the time limitations.

The site

The chosen (hypothetical) project building is sited adjacent to Leeds Bridge, where, in 1888,
Louis Le Prince is believed to have filmed the first moving image using his single-lens
camera. The overarching brief was inspired by film and, to link site with brief, each design
student was given a film to research, each of a different genre. The only difference with the
autism group’s project was that they were given the focus for their brief. This autism brief had
already been extensively researched by their tutor; if the students were going to tackle a
more complex design project than the other students in the year, then they required extra
help in return.

A design research report

Students were required to produce a detailed illustrated Design Report covering: individual
brief, site and building analysis, film research, re-evaluating the design of spaces for autistic
individuals, case study, precedent studies, conclusion, and proposing a way forward. They
were asked to look at The Government Building Bulletin for Designing for disabled children
and children with special educational needs (A&BB, 2008), but to question this throughout. A
key driver is the desire to question the “one size fits all” approach (Williams, 1996) within the
design for autism in schools.

Specific design requirements

The individually negotiated student briefs evolved and developed as the research emerged.
Nonetheless, all spaces within the project were to include:

1 Clarity of purpose (no mixed functions, so as to avoid any confusion of use). In a

conference discussion with Ros Blackburn, an adult with autism who is an international
speaker, Blackburn noted that the key improvement to be made in the design of interior
spaces is increased clarity of purpose (Personal conversation, 13 July 2012). For Blackburn,
entering a space with both a bed and a computer could prove perplexing; should she go to
sleep or work? To her, ‘the outside world is a confusing mass of sights and sounds. It is
totally baffling and incomprehensible’ (Blackburn cited by Bogdashina, 2014). Likewise,
Blackburn argues that spaces should clearly communicate the direction people with autism
should be walking, in order to prevent collision with walls, using the example of a hospital
designed for wheelchair users, with straight corridors and red lines on the floor.

2 A low arousal environment. Blackburn also picked up on visuals in the conference

lecture theatre, which appeared insignificant to the neurotypical observer: how light created
rainbows on chairs, a pink jumper on the back of a chair, and the specific arrangement of
three coffee cups. Therefore, environments which may appear at first sight low arousal, and
therefore non-distracting in an educational setting, can actually be distracting to people with
autism. Similar views on environments have been corroborated by many in the field of autism
(Mostafa, 2008).

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Community engagement and collaborative learning: the school

The local school, which became part of this project, was in temporary accommodation,
sharing some spaces with a local college, in a far from ideal situation. It is a Free SEN
School, initially started with just 5 children, but with a plan in place to increase in size to 50
pupils, over 5 years, and to move to purpose-converted accommodation within 2 years. Their
initial small class size worked out well with the project, as 1:1 sessions with each child were
easily facilitated.

The project required a sensitive approach, working with children ranging from non-verbal and
severely affected, to verbal and high functioning. The head teacher assisted with Project
Ethics and an internal code for the names of the students was implemented to avoid any
breaches in confidentiality. All of the “choosing” sessions were approved in advance by SEN
staff for appropriate content. Use of the term ‘autism’ was avoided in the presence of the
children, as the Head advised many of them do not know that they have this condition and
they could find the term confusing. The teachers provided a short profile on each of the
children and their sensory needs, to help in understanding them individually, and to help pre-
empt any behavioural triggers.

The design students met with the Chair of Governors for a briefing on the plans to move to
their new building, giving an insight into the context and complexity of a design project, and a
connection to the real world. The Chair had just returned from a visit to Forest Way,
Leicester, a new build, mixed special needs school with 30% ASD children. On her
recommendation, the students visited this building later in the project, to understand the
preferred approach for the new school.

PART TWO: INFORMATION GATHERING - A SERIES OF INTERACTIVE

SESSIONS BETWEEN THE SCHOOL CHILDREN AND THE DESIGN STUDENTS

Ice-breaker
This involved all of the children, staff and design students, held in the main classroom. It
commenced with the students showing a stop frame animation which they had produced in
response to the Temple Grandin film, primarily describing crossing over thresholds and
journeys between a series of spaces. The students then showed pictures of their pets, which
opened up communication between the whole group in a more successful and personal way
than purely speaking about the animation.

The children then served tea and cake in their temporary dining room, as part of developing
social skills but also an ideal opportunity for the students to be introduced to the children and
to help gain their trust. A natural pairing occurred; certain students engaged more readily
with certain children and vice versa.

Linking learning
In the interim, the main class teacher started to link the sessions with some of her school
sessions, as part of discussing the move with the children to a new school. She provided us
with the following information, which went on to inform the first “choosing” session:

Classroom design requirements suggested by the class of children and gathered by

the class teacher: ‘Chairs – red, fabric, soft, Reclining chairs, Small round windows, Thick

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carpet – blue, Not like a classroom, Small, coffee type table, TV/music centre, Brick - grey
walls (they had breezeblock for walls in their temporary classroom), Spot lights – dimmer
switch, Fish tank, No camera zone, Nothing on the walls, Projector to do pictures.’ (Personal
note from teacher). The most interesting comment was ’Not like a classroom’.

Design requirements for a classroom by one of the children who was not available for
the above session, but compiled this brief himself: ‘I would like a big classroom because
I feel claustrophobic. I don’t want a small classroom with lots of people in it. It makes me feel
frustrated and angry and I feel like I want to run out the room to get away. I would like a big
play area to play basketball. It would be nice to have a quiet area in the playground with a
few benches to sit on to talk and relax. I would like a separate room for play and activities like
playing Lego or reading a book. It would need to be a quiet room with bean bags or comfy
seats with soft material like cotton or fake leather. The classrooms could be painted green
and blue because they are my favourite colours.’ (Personal note from child).

Based on an understanding that a high proportion of ASD children are visual learners and
learn more effectively through direct participation (Scott, 2011), a series of hands-on
“choosing” sessions with the design students were arranged. These centred on choice, by
the children, of one two-dimensional image in favour over a second. To help source images,
the students were introduced to the following information: children’s likes and dislikes; issues
within their current building; selected writings by people with autism; and the film Temple
Grandin’s ‘Thinking in Pictures’. The tutors and design students then debated the strengths
and weaknesses of the images. It became evident that the staff needed control of the final
choice of images as the students were finding it difficult to undertake both this and their
design reports.

Child to design student learning, and vice versa, via a choosing session in the
classroom

The students were each paired with a child, working on visual choices, led by teachers and
teaching assistants, primarily using the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) reward-based
teaching method. This was useful for the students, as they could learn how the two
temporary classrooms functioned on a 1:1 basis; workstations were utilised for choosing and
a quiet corner for individual reward activities, such as listening to favourite music on
headphones. The session highlighted many of the problems within non-purpose-built
classrooms, which the students analysed in their extended design report, in an attempt to
identify key design issues.

Two-dimensional image choice

For each child, a pack was prepared of an extensive series of A4 colour, photographic
images describing internal spaces, with obvious, differing qualities. The groups were split into
two, one of higher ability than the other. One group coped with longer sessions and less
frequent breaks, the other shorter sessions with more frequent breaks. The images were
presented as a contrasting pair, always with the choice between two images, and then the
child decided which of the two images they preferred. The students asked ‘Do you like this,
OR this?’ The children with speech sometimes gave a reason for a particular selection. Key
spatial options included:

• Looking out of a space into a landscape or looking into a space: designed by

Carlo Scarpa;
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• A dark corridor with a light at the end and vice versa: spaces designed by James
Turrell and John Pawson;
• A straight corridor with or without a door at the end: spaces designed by Claudio
Silvestrin;
• Soft spaces, designed by Ernesto Neto or hard spaces, designed by Richard
Serra;
• Simple off-white grounded spaces, designed by Hiroshi Sugimoto or complex
suspended spaces, designed by Cristine Iglesias;
• Contained curved or contained linear spaces: Dan Graham’s sculptural optical
installations;
• Warmly lit interior or cool lit interior: designed by Maria Nordman;
• Spaces constructed from textured timber or those constructed from hard stone
materials: designed by Peter Zumthor.

The children who could concentrate for longer periods were shown further image choices,
which grew in detail depending on their earlier selected preferences. This process means
that the design students have to think on their feet, to reflect design in action (Schon, 1987),
pulling out more paired images depending on each child’s feedback.

The process encourages two-way learning as the design students are introduced to
exemplar precedent, by architects and designers, potentially inspiring their design work. The
sessions also helped the students to make the connection that ‘any object or built
environment embodies human choices and preferences’ (Salama, 2015:268).

Figure 1. A child’s two drawings of a preferred classroom layout. (Source: Child).

Outcomes: In hindsight, the simple shapes and forms which were presented as choices -
large circles and angular lines - were actually too simple and came across as abstract, rather
than purposeful, confusing the children. Better were photographs of spaces which were
deliberately uncluttered, so as to be clear in their intentions, with images of real spaces being
more easily interpreted by the children. There was no significant preference for any particular
space across the group, although the exercise did encourage conversations about likes and
dislikes. One boy started to draw plan layouts of very ordered linear, desks, chairs and
circulation routes set up within a grid (Figure 1).

Another child was particularly interested in stairs and balconies and would draw pictures
which included many stairs and viewing points from above. When asked why he liked stairs
so much, he responded that he enjoyed looking at them and the motion of walking up and
down, information utilised in the student’s project.
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Two-dimensional colour choice

This was a choice between a series of contrasting plain, flat, bright and soft versions of the
same colour, and neutral light and dark versions of a colour, printed onto A4 paper. 10
combinations in total.

Outcomes: There was no discernible pattern of selection of colour; the children liked
different colours and each child made different choices. Some children gave reasoning for
their choice, particularly if they could relate it to something they knew. In one instance, red
was interpreted as fire and burning, so this was not selected. Blue spaces were interpreted
as water by two children, yellow as sand by one child, so these options were selected. Green
space was associated with a jungle, while another connected it to the grass outside, again
the selection being made.

Three-dimensional texture choice

For one child, with complex needs, use was made of a sensory box incorporating a series of
interior material samples, instead of 2D images. The session was as interactive as possible;
the teacher sat opposite the child and gained eye contact while presenting the choices
verbally, lifting up the samples so that the child could touch and experience the texture.

Outcomes: In this box of textures was a grey composite tile which the child touched
regularly. This was a new texture to her, so generating a particularly interesting sensation.
There was not enough textural difference between the two smooth timbers presented, one
dark and one light, to make a choice. Two materials were touched extensively: textured
ribbed paper (orange) and heavily textured light stone. The teacher commented that this was
a very successful session with the child concentrating for good periods of time. Utilising
alternative methods of extracting information is a key design skill, as recognised by the
‘tactile maps’ produced for the participation of the visually impaired (Bernardi & Kowaltowski,
2010).

When presenting the A4 plain coloured sheets, it was much harder to ascertain a definite
choice as the child was looking to the left each time and was not as engaged with the feeling
of the flat smooth paper.

Spatial choosing session in the dark room/photography space

This room was selected on a pre- visit to the school as an ideal ‘control’ location to insert a
series of spaces; acoustically and visually quiet, in an undisturbed location, it also had many
variations of artificial lighting. A series of 4 environments were installed as options, which
came in the form of pop up tents of varying size and shape (Figure 2). Additional options
included a weighted blanket, a Pilates ball to sit and possibly rock on, and a static bean bag.
Again, choices were always between two items, and the options offered were varied
depending on the ability of the child. Once the optimum learning environment was
established, a learning activity was undertaken, set on a light box (choice of ‘on’ or ‘off’) with
options of coloured Irlen overlays (Figure 3), which can minimize or eliminate glare (Lawson,
1998). A light box was selected, as glowing with upward light has been identified as
beneficial for some people with autism (Bogdashina, 2013).

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Figure 2. (Top) Four low tech, alternative pop up environments with options for how to sit, set within a
photographic studio. (Source: Author).

Figure 3. (Bottom) Light table options with Irlen overlay choices (Lawson, 1998): image choices, text
choices and hand drawing choices. (Source: Author).

Ambient lighting to room choices:

These options were presented to each child: Full fluorescent ceiling lights on or off; Half
fluorescent ceiling lights on or off and/or Up light full on; Up light half on, Up light low on? The
general lighting options varied per child, with a variety of combinations, including totally off
for both ceiling and Up light in one instance.

The chosen light intensity was then used throughout the exercise.

Space/Positioning Choices:

These options were presented to each child:

1. (White Cube Tent): to sit in the open space outside the cube, or inside the cube and to sit
on cushions, the floor or a bean bag:
• 4 out of 5 children preferred to be inside the white cube tent.
• 3 of the children preferred to be on the beanbag, rather than on the cushions or
the floor.
• 3 of the children preferred to recline rather than sit.

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2. To be in the Cube with seating of choice or in the White Suspended canopy/enclosed in

sheer fabric with seating of choice:
• 3 of the children did not want to sit under the sheet canopy. The others did not
take part in this option. One child commented that it reminded him of a wedding
dress and the other of a hammock at his grans.
3. Coloured tepee (child sat on the floor - with cushion) or Dinosaur tent (child lying on the
floor - with cushions):
• Of the 3 children who took part, all 3 liked the dinosaur tent over the tepee, which
was rather small.
Overall preferences: 1 liked sitting in the white cube and 2 liked to lie down in the dinosaur
tent.

Touch/pressure/hug:
Choices: In the favourite setting, with or without the weighted blanket providing gentle, deep
pressure, possibly useful for sensory-integration. Analogous to Grandin’s hug machine, this
illustrated to the students an alternative way of addressing sensory pressure.
• out of 5 children, 3 preferred the weighted blanket over their knees. 1 preferred to
lie on it.

Proprioception and Vestibular: Balance/Movement:

Choices: Pilates ball: kneeling on the floor and leaning over the ball OR sitting and gently
rocking on top of the ball. The ball was selected as some autistic people think better when
they are moving (Grandin, 2008).

2 of the 3 children liked to sit on the ball and move slightly. The 3rd found that it had too
much movement and from then on stopped the exercise, he was at his limit. He had a strong
reaction to feeling unbalanced and unstable. The Pilates ball was too unstable, and
something which only offers slight movement might be a preferred option.

Light box on or off?

There was a preference (4 out of 5) for the light table to be switched on whilst looking at the
images. A choice out of up to 10 Irlen overlays were presented, two at a time in contrasting
coloured pairs. Once the most favoured of the 10 overlays was selected, the overlay was
placed over a picture of the same interior space selected in the previous exercise (a Corridor
with or without view, depending on preference). A text-based choice, with different coloured
overlays, was also presented, aimed at selecting the clearer image. Additionally, an
opportunity to freehand draw was given, followed by looking at the drawing with the Irlen
overlay demonstrating how it readily changes the whole colour palette of their work.

Outcomes: There was one clear outcome: all the children made different choices, each with
their own individual views and sensory needs.

It was evident that the children did like to be given a choice of tent, to sit or lie in, and many
liked the option of a weighted blanket to sit on or under. They appreciated to be able to
choose lighting from up lighting, to a general over light, to light from a light box, with light
from below. They responded well to selecting their own immediate environments and

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focused on task when the fit was correct. One child loved to draw, so this session went on for
a longer period of time, as he communicated fluently through his drawings. Another child was
so relaxed that he expressed a desire to have a nap. This highlighted the need for learning
spaces to be adaptable and responsive to the individual.

This collaborative research study, although limited in nature and not meant to be of scientific
importance, provided useful knowledge to inform the student design projects. However, the
research needed to be backed up with a visit to a fully functioning SEN school, so that the
students could gain an overall picture of how a whole school operates.

In the design brief, the students were asked to consider integrating sensory spaces within
their whole project building, to support learning activities, and not just within ‘calm rooms’, so
that a more holistic environment is explored to maximise learning and reduce the opportunity
for sensory overload in every space.

PART THREE: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE STUDENTS TO PRESENT THEIR

INDIVIDUAL DESIGN PROJECTS

Preparation
As part of the design process, the children came to hear the students present their work in
the University studio. In advance, to assist the children cope with the visit, a series of
photographs were provided of the journey from their school, to the exterior of the building,
and then the interior route to the studio (a working studio, a section of which was screened-
off to provide a non-distracting area with any potentially hazardous materials removed). A
detailed risk assessment included options available for the students (e.g. lift or stair), and an
adjacent room was cleared as a calm breakout environment.

Delivery
In an informal manner, the four design students presented their design ideas one at a time,
placing the work in the centre of the table, with the children and teachers sitting around the
table for an interactive approach. 1:50 scale figures were added to the models to help show
the children how the spaces could work with the human form, which the children found
engaging (Figure 4).

Figure 4. A visual and tactile experience: Photographs of the students presenting their work to the
children, at the University, incorporating their ideas for an ASD school through drawings and 3D
models. (Source: Author).

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The students made a few key points and showed the children their drawings of the spaces,
models of their ideas and of the building. The children touched the models and passed them
around and many asked questions; this worked well and encouraged sharing and turn taking.

The presentations were deliberately short, visual, highly structured, and with reduced
language, to reflect their school lessons. The students went onto present their work again to
the tutors as a full and complete design project for assessment utilising multi-sensory
learning styles (Flemming,1987).

The children who were able to cope with further environmental stimulus were shown around
the working interior studio to broaden their knowledge of university life and to raise their
aspirations.

A critique of this educational model

Feedback from expert autism teachers and the external examiner

The senior autism teacher at the School was supportive of the collaborative project, saying
that students had helped improve the social experiences for their children, while the children
provided clues on how they would like their sensory spaces to be designed in their new
school. The teacher thought that the process generated ideas and approaches which they
could choose to take forward in their new school and it also gave them an opportunity to
explain to their children some of the changes involved with moving into a new building. It
would have been of further value to have presented the design ideas to the teachers on a
separate occasion, for more targeted design feedback.

The project also received support from the external examiner, who stated ‘Design projects
across all 3 years are stretching, innovative, and often deliver startlingly interesting results.
The live projects and partnerships with Specialist Schools, is to be commended.’

Student feedback

Speaking about the project, a first-year design student said: ‘It was a great and exciting
experience and I learnt so much about the thinking process which then goes through to
design for specific individuals. This is a lesson I would have probably never have learnt
otherwise.’ The student group believed that one of the most helpful stages was their first
case study visit, as it made sense of the needs of the children. In particular, they stipulated
that they would definitely benefit from their tutor being present at the case study visit, so that
the tutor could ask all the right questions of the autism teachers, which would allow for a
deeper connection to the project.

PART FOUR: TEACHING REFLECTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Realistic goals and clear instructions

Various challenges were presented by the project such as communicating with a temporary
school whose headmaster left half way through the project, working with children whose
autism spanned a wide spectrum, and gauging how much to expect from the first-year
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university design students on a research led project. A balance was required between
feeding information on autism to the students to accelerate the design process and leaving
space for students to develop alternative approaches for themselves, so their ability to create
their own design ideas in response to this information could be tested and assessed.

A key realisation between tutors and design students was that, as a first attempt at this
project, there was an element of “breaking in” which comes with its own challenges and
rewards. The importance of simplifying individual briefs became apparent, rather than
tackling the design of a whole school, as did the need to take control of the planning of
content and direction of the choosing sessions. Being in their first year, the students required
careful management with clear guidelines. Encouraging them to latch onto one strong
research idea, inspired initially by the work with children, and then follow it through by
creating one or two strong spatial design responses, became the most effective teaching
approach.

Time and organisational management

The small group tutorials were held at the end of a studio day, allowing extendable time not
only to advise on the individual projects, but also to set up subsequent choosing sessions.
The project ran for 12 weeks, including 5 weeks of research and 7 weeks of hands-on
design. Small group tutorials of 4 students, twice a week for around 1.5 to 2 hour sessions,
were required to make sense of the moving target, and to give clear responsive direction.
Regular deadlines were essential, incorporating flexible minor deadlines to respond to the
reality of a live situation.

Owing to tight schedules and availability of teaching staff within the school, a limited number
of face-to-face sessions had to be fitted in at short notice. This included: one introductory
meet, to assess if the project was viable; a fact-finding meeting for all; a getting to know the
children session, broken into two parts; one choosing session, broken into three small parts;
and one presentation and feedback session.

Makers

It would be beneficial if a ‘Professional Maker’ is available in the research team, to

collaborate and help construct 1:1 aspects of the student’s design ideas for testing. However,
to encompass this, the project would probably need to be run over a longer timeframe. One
option would be if the Interior Architecture students could team up with some Furniture or
Product Design students.

CONCLUSION

Running a student led design project in a live and professional project setting, collaborating
directly with a local school, is an effective way of priming students for real world design and
maximising the student experience. Not only does it inform the students about autism and
the users, but also helps instil a sense of social responsibility.

A collateral benefit is to the autistic children involved - they are shown university life, which in
some instances could raise future aspirations, they have opportunities to develop life and
communication skills (turn taking, giving opinions, choosing, coping with different
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environments) and, in this case, the process assisted the impact of the transition of moving
to a new school.

The conclusion reached, though, was that this approach was not sustainable and an
alternative way of running the project had to be found in future. Issues included:
1 The disproportionate amount of time attempting to organise when the two groups
meet, partially owing to the inflexible university 6 module structure: 3 in Semester 1,
and 3 in Semester 2, in parallel to the school’s fixed daily timetable.
2 Co-ordinating University assessment deadlines with the availability of the school
children and staff for feedback. For transparency, some universities require module
deadlines to be published at the start of Semester 1.
3 Communication between university tutor and school teacher can be difficult as the
teachers are understandably uncontactable during classroom hours and have very
full long days supporting school work.
4 The demands of managing a part ‘live’ project which is a moving target, is all
consuming, if it is to be undertaken effectively, particularly with the larger proportion
of the year also to teach in parallel.
5 There is no real time to stand back and reflect on a short project, as tutors need to be
reactive to the situation. Running the project for a second year would help to address
some issues, but this can be problematic; in this case, the school moved to a second
temporary location and was under different leadership.
6 All sessions with the school must be deliverable on a realistic basis with no additional
budget for staffing or materials, unless these are attainable.
7 Working alongside children with special educational needs is an emotionally
demanding undertaking, but it is also highly rewarding. There is a strong desire to
provide the children with the best experience possible, to show that designers care.
8 It has been evidenced that having a tutor on the project who has a working
knowledge of autism is of real value. This enables the effective transfer of up-to-date,
specific knowledge to students as and when relevant information is accessed, such
as at conferences and speaking to experts and contacts at autism schools in the
local community. A working knowledge in autism also helps to reassure SEN
teachers that the project is going to be run with understanding and sensitivity to their
children.
9 The adoption of ‘concrete material experiences’ (Temple, 2010), in this case through
autism research, and ‘abstract learning’ through concept development, has been
successful in engaging the students with a complex brief, more complex than their
immediate contemporaries on the course.

The process adds value to the student experience, builds confidence by meeting
professionals and clients and eliminates pre-conceived ideas surrounding autism. It shows
that design can be an interactive process between university and special schools. However,
this paper highlights the pitfalls of a live project of this nature, to be of use for current
educators. Essentially, the project needs to be contained and more accessible, to reproduce

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as an educational model. This is to be explored in a future paper, by reference to case

studies of subsequent autism specific projects.

‘Industry needs creative workers that can collaborate, communicate and integrate activities
and projects.’ (Furniss, 2015:5). ‘An awareness and understanding of perceived and real
environmental effects is critical for students both as users and as future designers and
architects.’ (Salama, 2015:270). The university module structure can be constraining for ‘live’
projects, and in order to overcome this, educators need to be innovative with our delivery.

The Spatial Civic Agency model addresses the issue of live projects being criticised ‘as
working for rather than working with community groups’ (Sara & Jones, 2018:330). A target
resolution advanced by this model involves a cross-community approach and consensus.
However, when autism is involved, a different perspective and language are required; it is
about the autism community as a whole, but more importantly, it is about the individual with
ASD. It is almost impossible to find a shared language, as suggested in non-autism specific
populations, and maybe this is one reason why limited progress, in the form of design for
autism, has presented itself. As learnt in the experiences of a special needs role play model
(Bernardi & Kowaltowski, 2010), such a model is no substitute for live research. The taught
transferable skill is that each and every community has to be researched in detail to
understand their individual identities and actual needs.

To share and collectively create knowledge, as opposed to the knowledge purely being
disseminated (Sara & Jones, 2018), is fundamental to teaching if our students are to be
prepared and credible for a successful future in design practice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Amanda Wanner, senior lecturer and colleague, who supported me with this
first autism driven project with the students, and David Littlefield, external examiner, for his
encouragement. The research would not have been possible without the agreement of the
former head master, Tim Gleave, of The Lighthouse school, Yorkshire’s first special free
school, and in particular a key SEN teacher, Tracy Obrien, and of course the children and
staff of the school.

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