AMAUROTIC SPHERE

WELFARE INSTITUTION FOR BLIND

THESIS 2020
SYNOPSIS

KRISHNACHANDAR RAMALINGAM
821515251030
INTRODUCTION

Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to
see to a degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of visual impairment is either
preventable or curable with treatment.
As of 2015 there were 940 million people with some degree of vision loss.246 million had low
vision and 39 million were blind.

What Causes Blindness?

Vision problems can develop before a baby is born. Sometimes, parts of the eyes don't form
the way they should. A kid's eyes might look fine, but the brain has trouble processing the
information they send. The optic nerve sends pictures to the brain, so if the nerve doesn't
form correctly, the baby's brain won't receive the messages needed for sight.
Blindness can be genetic (or inherited), which means that this problem gets passed down to a
kid from parents through genes.
Is Learning Different?
A baby who is blind can still learn and develop normally. But the baby's parents will need the
help of specialists who know how to help blind children. It's often a great idea for the child
to attend special learning programs designed just for little kids who have trouble seeing.
These programs would make the most of the senses that the kid does have, such as touch,
hearing, smell, and taste.

Touch comes in handy when a child is older and wants to read books. Kids who are visually
impaired can learn to read by using a special system called braille. Braille is a way of
expressing letters, words, and thoughts. To read braille, a person feels a series of little bumps
that are associated with letters in the alphabet. For instance, "A" is represented as one
bump. Computer programs and other devices that can "see" turn the words on a page into
braille.

Hearing is another important sense if a kid has vision problems. Some devices can read out
loud what's written on a page. With special equipment, a visually impaired kid can read
almost anything. These kinds of technologies can be helpful in learning. Kids who are blind
might attend a special school, or they might attend regular classes, aided by special devices
and specialists.
Hot Dog!
Kids who have vision problems will get help from their parents, doctors, and teachers. When they are older, some of them
may get a hand — or should we say a paw? — from a guide dog. These helper dogs are trained to be a blind person's eyes.
That means the dog learns to be very alert to surroundings so he or she can be a good guide for the person.
Not only are these dogs great friends, they give blind people independence, so they can accomplish what they want to
accomplish.
NEED

Rehabilitation for people who are blind depends on whether blindness was present at birth (congenital) or at a very
young age or whether it developed later in life. Children who are born blind or who become blind at a very young age
usually receive special education about how to function without sight from the beginning. Thus, most of them
become well-adjusted. However, people who become blind later in life must learn new ways of dealing with daily
living, such as how to feed themselves.

Therapists also teach people to rely more on their other senses and to use devices for the blind, such as Braille. The
goal is to help people function as well as possible, become independent, and regain their self-confidence.
Blind people also have to learn how to use a cane, and family members and other caregivers must learn how to walk
with them. Family members are instructed not to change the location of furniture or other objects without telling the
blind person.
Learning how to use a seeing eye dog and Braille come much later. In the interim, audio books help the blind
participate in reading.
AIM

The aim of the project is to study and explore the accessibility of blind and visually impaired people to public and private
spaces.

OBJECTIVE

To create a sense through architectural design in order to enable a visually impaired person to experience the environment
and gain comfort from it. Contribute a betterment for the blind people through architecture.
SCOPE

Rehabilitation (literally, the act of making able again) helps patients achieve physical, social, emotional, spiritual independence
and quality of life.

HUMAN SENSES IN ARCHITECTURE

• Sight
• Lighting
• Texture
• Sound
• Smell

Clinical studies and treatments

Neurological approach
Chemical treatments
Gene therapy
Physical approach
Mobility training
Home skills training
Vision Rehabilitation lessons and training

• Communication skills: reading and writing, braille, and assistive computer technology
• Counseling: to help you, your spouse, family members, and friends adjust to your vision loss
• Independent living and personal management skills: home modifications, home repairs, personal self-care, financial
management, recreation and leisure activities, and using the telephone
• Independent movement and travel skills: moving about safely indoors, using transportation, and traveling safely
outdoors with a long white cane or other device
• Low vision evaluations and training with low vision devices: the low vision examination, bioptics for driving, low
vision optical devices, and non-optical devices, such as held magnifiers, special reading glasses, telescopes, and high
intensity lamps that can make the best use of remaining vision
• Vocational rehabilitation: Getting back to work after a vision loss, or breaking into the workplace as a job seeker with
blindness or low vision, including vocational evaluation and training, job training, job modification and restructuring,
and job placement.
CASE STUDY

• National association for the blind , New Delhi

• Blind relief association , New Delhi
• National association for the blind , Mumbai

LITERATURE STUDY

• Children’s center for psychiatric rehabilitation, Hokkaido, Japan

• Hazelwood school, Glasgow, Scotland]
• Architecture workshop – Mauricio Rocha

SPECIAL STUDY

• Sensory Architecture
• Data Collection