The DeafSpace design principles were developed at Gallaudet University, a well-respected university in Washington, DC whose mission focuses on educating people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Gallaudet is, as their website reports, “a world class institute of changemakers in the deaf and signing community.” The people of Gallaudet, and the designers associated with developing its on-campus spaces, carefully considered how space design can support, or thwart, the acoustically challenged as they set out to live the lives they’ve planned, and organized what they learned into DeafSpace design.
Now, as reported in this Fast Company article (https://www.fastcompany.com/90738970/one-architects-mission-to-bring-deafspace-design-to-the-masses?partner=feedburner&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feedburner+fastcompany&utm_content=feedburner&cid=eem524:524:s00:04/08/2022_fc&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=Compass&utm_campaign=eem524:524:s00:04/08/2022_fc ), DeafSpace seems to be having “a moment.” DeafSpace is, according to the Fast Company article, being used to design a public space for the first time.
It’s great that DeafSpace design is getting attention as a result of this project because its principles should really be applied in most design projects; they improve the life experiences of all—as any good design does. As our population ages and, for some of us, our ability to hear fades, DeafSpace’s tenets seems particularly useful. Also, as more people travel from place-to-place in their own private soundscapes (via ear buds, etc.), design that doesn’t necessarily rely on users to hear anything can help keep us all happy. For more information on DeafSpace, in general, look here: https://www.gallaudet.edu/campus-design-and-planning/deafspace/
Some of the useful-for-all DeafSpace design principles are:
- Making sure that all participants in any potential conversation can see each other’s faces, that no sits with their back to anyone else—or to a walkway or similar open area that others might be using—as that back-to-travel configuration can be distracting/stressful (even if there’s no actual traffic there’s always anticipated traffic).
- Signaling underfoot, via changes in pavement, for instance, approaching design elements, such as stairs, that need to be focused on. People communicating via sign language may be participating in a conversation and not on locating such potential hazards, the rest of us have no such excuse, but can still benefit from the underfoot signaling. Similarly, many of us are not very attentive to the potential presence of others, so clear or frosted panels on doors (with frosted ones best in situations where privacy might be a concern, as with bathroom doors) can help prevent us from opening a door and hitting someone, etc. Those of us who can hear well are likely to be able to pick out the acoustic signals that are generated by someone present, but those signals only come through to our brains and get used if we’re not distracted, wearing ear buds, etc. Seeing others can protect others.
- When speakers are backlit, it can be hard to read their lips, not being able to discern facial expressions has a negative effect on communication, however, regardless of hearing status. So, if conference room tables need to be placed in a way that could result in intense backlighting, for instance via strong afternoon sun, some sort of window treatment that automatically or otherwise prevents people’s faces from being obscured should be installed. Similar issues with shadows and glare also are best resolved, for all. Plain backgrounds behind speakers (not heavily patterned ones, etc.) can also make it easier to see other’s faces.
- “Blind” intersections can lead to collisions when sound cues are absent (and sometimes even when they’re present) so solutions such as glass-walled corners can, sometimes literally, “save the day.”
DeafSpace design can make all our lives more pleasant, regardless of how well we process acoustic signals.
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.