Hey guys, this post is brought to you by my new brail keyboard. I've recently really wanted to go into architecture. Is it essential to be able to see?
What should I do about learning how to design without the use of my eyes?
I heard there was a professor at Columbia who said once that 3 blind mice designed a blob once.
The Helen Hamlyn Reseach Centre (part of the Royal College of Art in London) does a lot of work on inclusive environments, accessible design and the like. There is a biennial conference under the title "Include" that tackles issues associated with all sorts of disability and how designers (including Architects) can make a better job of designing for all.
If anybody knows about how to get involved with the built environment without being able to see, they will. At the 2003 conference there was presentation of, in a loose sense, braille art. Pictures that had been rendered with textures and ridges to allow appreciation by the blind. There may well be similar Architectural models, or perhaps you could progress the making of some.
it might be interesting (in a sick sort of way) if you just lost ONE eye and had no depth perception. i lost a contact one morning before work surfing and was screwy all day.
i've always been convinced that i would go blind before the end of my career, and that my last few projects would be masterpieces, analogous to that composer guy who went deaf.
I recall listening to Bucky Fuller saying he was leagally blind until he was 5 years old and then there after when he didn't have his coke bottle glasses. It didn't seem to hurt him in defining theory and architecture. Go for it!
legally blind is different. i think. my friend's father is legally blind and he's able to see. he reads books, maps, street signs, etc. its just fuzzy i think, moreso than you and i see. and with glasses, legally blind people are able to see almost normally.
hey my social aspects of architecture professor talked about one day a blind architect he knew. he drew in brail or something like that I forget.
Goodluck
As a lecturer/tutor it sounds very intriguing(?) to think about how I discuss design and work with students to develop their ideas and concepts, typically through visual reference material and sketching.
A lot of architecture teaching is about representation as much as ideas and planning about space - communicating your ideas to others in order to realise your ideas into real space.
A lot of the interest also comes from understanding how others (students) think and understand things before the cynicism of practice has worn them down. I teach part time.
How all this would work with a blind student would shift so many of the parameters of how I work that I really don't know where I would start. Clearly my understanding of space from an alternate perspective would be the first thing I would have to re-assess.
The funny thing is I often think so many students are blind - in that we have to teach them how to look and how to see. They actually notice very little about their environment and how things go together until it's pointed out to them.
It would be nice to keep this thread on topic as it sounds like it could teach us all a lot about how we understand what we do ourselves and how we communicate this. While writing this post I even realise how much language used to describe our work is visually related eg point of view
Oddly enough someone was telling me today about a free computer monitor she got from this blind dude. I assumed it was because, being blind, he had no use for a computer monitor. Au contraire. In fact, being blind, he receives free computer monitor upgrades all the time from some blind people's foundation--monitors that he uses somehow--and so he gives his old ones away when the new ones come in.
...What does a BLIND GUY need with a computer monitor?!
Macs have a feature that zooms stuff way up so "legally" blind people can read it.
and also a speak feature for the interface, it reads screen/gui items. it reads mail and web pages aloud. sounds like that brilliant physicist guy . . .
seriously, there was a guy in a wheelchair in one of my classes, he seriously resented getting pegged as the accessibility expert, and refused to design for himself on his project. No ramps, elevator, whatever.
He just wanted to design for anybody, and not be thought of as the guy in the wheelchair
Hello, i'm blind, can I be an architect?
Hey guys, this post is brought to you by my new brail keyboard. I've recently really wanted to go into architecture. Is it essential to be able to see?
What should I do about learning how to design without the use of my eyes?
I heard there was a professor at Columbia who said once that 3 blind mice designed a blob once.
HELP ME WITH MY LIFE DECISIONS!!!!!!
well that depends on how you feel about space
ha pun.
I am actually going to have to ask someone to mail me a brail transcript of this thread because I can't see it.
The Helen Hamlyn Reseach Centre (part of the Royal College of Art in London) does a lot of work on inclusive environments, accessible design and the like. There is a biennial conference under the title "Include" that tackles issues associated with all sorts of disability and how designers (including Architects) can make a better job of designing for all.
The Helen Hamlyn Research Centre can be found at this address:
http://www.hhrc.rca.ac.uk/index.html
And the Include conference here:
http://www.hhrc.rca.ac.uk/programmes/include/index.html
If anybody knows about how to get involved with the built environment without being able to see, they will. At the 2003 conference there was presentation of, in a loose sense, braille art. Pictures that had been rendered with textures and ridges to allow appreciation by the blind. There may well be similar Architectural models, or perhaps you could progress the making of some.
Good luck.
Sometimes my own sincerity really trips me up
there was a blind architect on extreme makeover: home edition. they were designing for a blind person and hired a blind architect as a consultant.
how did he pass the ARE drawing tests?
Going blind is one of my biggest fears.
it might be interesting (in a sick sort of way) if you just lost ONE eye and had no depth perception. i lost a contact one morning before work surfing and was screwy all day.
i've always been convinced that i would go blind before the end of my career, and that my last few projects would be masterpieces, analogous to that composer guy who went deaf.
stop masturbating then
I recall listening to Bucky Fuller saying he was leagally blind until he was 5 years old and then there after when he didn't have his coke bottle glasses. It didn't seem to hurt him in defining theory and architecture. Go for it!
Michael Graves...
legally blind is different. i think. my friend's father is legally blind and he's able to see. he reads books, maps, street signs, etc. its just fuzzy i think, moreso than you and i see. and with glasses, legally blind people are able to see almost normally.
whatever normal sight is.
Richard Rogers was dislexyc.. er.. dyslexic
one of the best professors i had at university was blind, he was really good and i learned a lot from him.
Well, you dont have to be, when you get the computer eye
http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/03/bionic-eye-bypasses-optic-nerve/
hey my social aspects of architecture professor talked about one day a blind architect he knew. he drew in brail or something like that I forget.
Goodluck
As a lecturer/tutor it sounds very intriguing(?) to think about how I discuss design and work with students to develop their ideas and concepts, typically through visual reference material and sketching.
A lot of architecture teaching is about representation as much as ideas and planning about space - communicating your ideas to others in order to realise your ideas into real space.
A lot of the interest also comes from understanding how others (students) think and understand things before the cynicism of practice has worn them down. I teach part time.
How all this would work with a blind student would shift so many of the parameters of how I work that I really don't know where I would start. Clearly my understanding of space from an alternate perspective would be the first thing I would have to re-assess.
The funny thing is I often think so many students are blind - in that we have to teach them how to look and how to see. They actually notice very little about their environment and how things go together until it's pointed out to them.
It would be nice to keep this thread on topic as it sounds like it could teach us all a lot about how we understand what we do ourselves and how we communicate this. While writing this post I even realise how much language used to describe our work is visually related eg point of view
GN
This topic has got stuck in my head...
Wasn't sure if you have been blind since birth? or how old/experienced you are.
I'll give you a small project to do and you can see how you feel about it.
Describe the place where you live to someone who doesn't know it but who will be able to visit to see how well your description stands up.
This can take any form or method but should not require your intervention to explain.
Try to describe both the pragmatic and the emotional.
That blind guy story is pretty good, oldfogey.
Oddly enough someone was telling me today about a free computer monitor she got from this blind dude. I assumed it was because, being blind, he had no use for a computer monitor. Au contraire. In fact, being blind, he receives free computer monitor upgrades all the time from some blind people's foundation--monitors that he uses somehow--and so he gives his old ones away when the new ones come in.
...What does a BLIND GUY need with a computer monitor?!
i've wondered this before...can blind people use the internet? is there a voice reader that makes text information auditory for them?
Macs have a feature that zooms stuff way up so "legally" blind people can read it.
and also a speak feature for the interface, it reads screen/gui items. it reads mail and web pages aloud. sounds like that brilliant physicist guy . . .
seriously, there was a guy in a wheelchair in one of my classes, he seriously resented getting pegged as the accessibility expert, and refused to design for himself on his project. No ramps, elevator, whatever.
He just wanted to design for anybody, and not be thought of as the guy in the wheelchair
"...What does a BLIND GUY need with a computer monitor?!"
some OSs won't generate a GUI without a monitor attached, so no VNC, no accessibilty features.
with a monitor attached, a GUI gets generated, the location of the cursor triggers spoken UI elements.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.