Deaf Spaces & Architecture

I have to admit that I found this video way more interesting than I thought it would be. I was feeling unsure about how much I would understand considering I have absolutely no background knowledge about architecture, however, I felt like I immediately understood what point they were trying to get across after just 30 seconds into the introduction of this video. It asks the question: What would the man-made world look like and feel like for those who don't hear? Everyday objects that hearing-abled people wouldn't normally think twice about flashed across the screen: train stop announcements, phones, car horns, ambulances, tea kettles, elevators, heart monitors. My first instinct was," Oh my god, I didn't realize everything is so audio-centric, how are we possibly going to adapt all of these things and make them more accessible to people with hearing disabilities?" After watching and learning about the creation of deaf spaces, I realized that it takes so little to make life more accessible to people with hearing disabilities. It can be as simple as reconfiguring the orientation of desks in a room and making wider hallways to more complicated tasks like totally reconstructing the spacial design of a building interior to one that's more transparent and visible. There's a lot of thoughtful details that go into the design of deaf space as well, such as the direction of lighting and including shiny, reflective surfaces to help provide some environmental clues to people, all while following a modern and chic look of a high-class institution. 

This reminds me of last week's discussion on "what is disability culture" and how creativity and innovation are two crucial aspects of that culture. Again, I think back to Grace's personal example of how she uses hangers to turn off her light in her room where she an everyday object is reimagined into having a new purpose. This all circles back to this week's topic in that deaf culture and the deaf community should no longer be described as hearing-loss, but as deaf-gained, which proves the point that deaf culture has a lot to offer to hearing-abled people.