Open Architecture. THROUGH THE EYES OF THE BLIND 

“I exist in life only if I can see!”  -  Le Corbusier 
“I am and I remain an impenitent visual – everything is in the visual.”  - Mise au Point  
 
Architects, designers, and creative people, in general, tend to think, dream, design, and create are entirely reliant on the visual realm. The end physical model is entirely dependent on the mental image presented through a drawing. The whole design process is entirely based on the visual and that, fundamentally, is the reason for the big division between the mental world we design in and the physical world in which we build.  

 

Therefore, blindness and severe sight impairment are the areas needing extra focus as vision is viewed as “humanity’s greatest gift”. Thus, I have chosen to design a place for blind and severely visually impaired because for them knowledge about the visual reference system is absent. They have to rely entirely on their other senses and are more attentive to non-visual stimuli. Furthermore, statistics show that by 2050 the blind community will double in numbers which speaks about the need to raise awareness of this issue.

 

 My proposal is a center which will aim to help the blind and VI by providing support, information, and practical advice. As in the vast majority of cases, vision loss is related to an illness, pre and post-treatment will be offered in order for them to cope with the new way of living. It will also include a center for sighted people (relatives or people wanting to know more) which will help them understand what is it to see through the eyes of the blind.