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For those who experience all kinds of struggles within their physical surroundings, thoughtful and science-driven approaches to space planning are necessities.

Office facilities managers are closely watching the two trends, which are unfolding in parallel. It is quite an eyebrow raising situation for them, as both trends seem to be growing at an equal pace, but at the same time there seems to be an inherent contradiction between them.

On one hand, all office safety guidelines comprise a list of restrictions on space usage: 6 feet distance, limiting number of people in a closed space, no food sharing in common kitchens, one way circulation patterns, etc. On the other hand, the post-COVID office space is expected to be a sort of paradise for team collaboration, fostering communication and sense of belonging. Quite a dilemma, which should force facility managers to look for ideas somewhere outside of conventional real estate playbooks.

Learning From Impaired Communities

Those who are inherently vulnerable in this world, and constantly have to adjust, today might be the ones to learn from. The community of deaf people have developed a concept of “human-centered space”, which became the foundation of so called “deaf architecture”.

While for many, “human-centered space” might sound like an exciting and trendy concept, for deaf people, it has nothing to do with fashion trends. For those who experience all kinds of struggles within their physical surroundings, thoughtful and science-driven approaches to space planning are necessities.

Modern approaches to interior design put aesthetics at the center of the creative process, while people are regarded as secondary. Searching for more sustainable ways of space creation, the deaf community has developed their own philosophical foundation for the built environment, which seems to be equally valid and valuable for the rest of the world. This philosophy can be expressed in these three quotes:

  • “The occupation of space is the first proof of existence” – Le Corbusier, Swiss-French Architect, pioneer of architectural Modernism, inventor of theory of color – Architectural Polychromy.
  • “Human identity presupposes the identity of place” – Christian Norberg-Schulz, Norwegian modernist architect, associated with architectural phenomenology movement.
  • “People from different cultures not only speak different languages, but inhabit different sensory worlds” – Edward Hall, American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher.

Practical Tips

There are a few very practical principles, integrated into deaf architecture. The first one is about maintaining enough distance between two or more people, so that everyone can have a full view of everyone’s face. For instance, buildings need to have broader hallways, so that two people could be walking side by side, maintaining a safe distance, sufficient for being able to communicate.

Another great finding is flexible furniture. It is particularly useful in spaces for collaborative work, allowing participants to arrange their individual spaces, so that they could see everyone’s faces. They can also easily adjust to changing direction of natural light. This is extremely important, as deaf people’s eyes are the main receptor of information and therefore constantly strained.

We habitually overlook those small pieces of sensational puzzle, which eventually create a spatial experience and emotional perception of the place.

Choice of color palettes is also done with much more diligence, and relies on scientific and medical data. There is a lot of research how colors affect our well-being: some of them can help to minimize eyes fatigue, create more sensory comfort, both physical and emotional. It has been proven, that in a space with certain colors and lighting, deaf students feel physically better, with less fatigue, and can maintain concentration longer.

Thoughtful placement of mirrors in interior design helps to enhance spatial awareness. An abundance of glass walls allows people to see and cheer each other, while being far away, even on different floors. It gives them a feeling of openness, belonging, being together with people who are located in different parts of the building.

Finally, tactile sensations and sense of smell also make great contributions to creating a holistic spatial experience. Diligent processes of choosing materials for surfaces, control over air quality, eliminating disturbing smells and, sometimes, introducing the desired ones – all of this can create an unconscious attachment to the place. Ignoring such unobvious but very powerful factors can create the opposite – unconscious tension and eagerness to leave. 

We habitually overlook those small pieces of sensational puzzle, which eventually create a spatial experience and emotional perception of the place. Beyond our comprehension, we decide whether we like the place or not. If asked what is behind our likes or dislikes, most of us would not be able to identify the true reasons. Rather, we would mistakenly attribute our feelings to some other factors.

Open End Project

it is more about the approach to space design – very thoughtful, responsible, holistic, science-based, detail oriented, and – most important – placing people’s wellbeing at the center of design process.

There is one important takeaway, that we could take from the project development experience, shared by Hansel Bauman, Architect of Gallaudet University Campus (see the video above). Bauman talks about creating a facility for deaf students. Originally, the concept was inspired by the deaf community, the actual work of designing was done by a team, who work within their conventional paradigm.  Even though they’ve taken into account all the requests, they were still doing their jobs within their conventional paradigm. Most of the ideas were actually brought into life, but overall the project didn’t work out very well.

Working on their building, they changed the approach, and the actual work of planning and drawing was done by deaf people. This is how they managed to transform an abstract paradigm of an organic space into a real physical form.

Thinking of the above learnings in context of designing a workplace, the following suggestions can be made. First of all, it is essential to build a cross-functional team, which would collectively represent the needs and interests of all stakeholders involved:

  • Employees from all departments, working on different schedules;
  • IT team with their expertise around security, system capabilities etc.;
  • HR team with their agenda on human talent needs;
  • Property management company, listening to the tenants’ needs carefully;
  • Design team, learning on the fly to work within the paradigm of particular company’s processes and culture;
  • Material and equipment suppliers, challenged to look for new solutions based on end-user perspective.

All the core members of this project-based team should work side by side from the very start until the day of project completion. More than that, monitoring the outcome, identifying flaws, improving things on an ongoing basis should become an important process within the company’s workflow.

The Big Picture

Drawing from experience of deaf architecture does not suggest that those principles should be bluntly copied and replicated in other spaces. There are some very specific tips, however, which can be borrowed in full. At a high level, it is more about the approach to space design – very thoughtful, responsible, holistic, science-based, detail oriented, and – most important – placing people’s wellbeing at the center of design process. In this video, recorded 5 years ago, Hansel is talking about empathetic design, and how space can be helpful in overcoming feelings of isolation and stress. His message is relevant as never before.

It is puzzling that these well-known effects of physical spaces on people have not been put into practice at any substantial scale so far. It is an incredible tool for companies’ management to boost employees’ motivation, productivity and loyalty. In budget terms, how much of the costs related to payroll, recruitment, new staff adaptation, etc. can be reduced due to a smart approach to company’s workplace?

Galaudet University Campus:

Header image – Gallaudet 2022 masterplan

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