Architect Christopher Downey came to Miami to present a lecture as part of a local exhibit called Listen to This Building.  The exhibit is organized Exile Books, a pop-up artist’s book store, and is meant to show the architecture of downtown Miami through the senses of touch and as stated in the title of the show, through hearing.  It is believed to be the first architectural exhibit designed to address accessibility for persons with visual impairments. Downey is an architect who is visually impaired having lost his eyesight in 2008 yet continues to practice architecture in the Bay Area.  His lecture, “Building Voice” is a play on words, as it can be interpreted as the acoustic characteristics of an edifice or the creation of an individual’s style. 

“If you’re going to lose your eye sight, start training yourself to be an architect”, says Downey, who believes his training and the 20 years of practicing architecture before the loss has given him a set of skills (problem solving, critical thinking, etc.) helping him adapt to everyday life.  As a result, he has rediscovered aspects of the vocation that he felt went unnoticed before.  “As architects we stop at sight, but what else are we losing? What are we missing out on”, he adds. 

Downey talks about his transitioning within practice stating it’s not about giving up using the tools (pencils, computers) he once used, but rather picking up new tools.  A braille printer allows him to convert PDF’s of plans and sketches to read them.  His new way of drawing involves using wax sticks that can be bent and shaped into tactile designs.  The use of his cane allows him to sense reverberation time between objects, hence measuring distances, but also it allows him to feel the different textures around him.  Through the connection of a sound artist, Downey has also collaborated with ARUP’s sound lab to create what he calls “tap-through”; acoustical walkthroughs of buildings. 

Downey presented case studies of projects either he designed or served as a consultant as well current precedents designed by others.  His approach is a full sensory engagement, even though he’s found the sense of taste to be quite difficult to incorporate.  The New Eye Center on Van Ness incorporates temperature for new arrivals to the building. An overhang provides shade from particularly unshaded street, therefore indicating to the person coming to seek treatment that they have arrived due to the sudden change in surrounding climate.  Materials on the ground also change as one approaches the entrance to alert visually impaired clients that they’re approaching the entrance to the center.  The San Francisco Light House for the Blind is an interiors project that consist of three floors in an office building.  When visitors arrive, designed audial cues are embedded into the materials from alerts to sound absorption.  The programming of rooms also helps patients navigate around the three spaces.  For instance, a culinary teaching kitchen is located on a corner of the floor, which is able to use smell to draw people toward that area and keep them moving through the space.  One interesting design feature he focuses on are handrails, which he alludes to being the “handshake between the building and person interacting with it”.  Handrails are carefully crafted, using 3D printed technologies and testing to find the right handshake for the project.

Downey ends his lecture emphasizing that his passion to stick with architecture was from the motivation to make the world a better place.  When asked if he’s encountered students who are pursuing architecture and are blind (Downey teaches at UC-Berkley) he says no, although would not dissuade a student but is fully aware of the challenges they would have and the challenges any architecture school would face to provide the right instruction.  He claims it would be a great experiment for both parties, as it would reveal what architecture means to someone who has been blind from birth as well re-think a curriculum of an architecture education.