What role does Architecture play in the education of people who place on the autistic spectrum and what factors must be taken into considerations when designing education spaces for those with ASD?
Haverstock Associates were commissioned in 2000 by the London Borough of Camden to design a unit for ASD students on the existing grounds of Netley Primary School. Nicknamed “The Woodlands” the ASD unit has three classrooms and a sensory space. The school educates mid-functioning to high-functioning autistic children with the occasional lower functioning child. The units’ primary function is to prepare pupils for integration into the mainstream part of Netley Primary School with other neurotypical pupils. The space is also used as an IT and literacy education centre for adults, and a crèche (fig.33).
CASE STUDY: NETLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL, ASD UNIT
The ASD classrooms are located on a small plot of land and the design revolves around a secure private courtyard. Access permitted via intercom and CCTV ensures that unauthorised members of the public are unable to enter the space via William Road and classrooms can only be accessed from the courtyard. This security system prevents incomers from entering the Woodlands and also prevents pupils from leaving. Children with ASD are particularly vulnerable due to their communication, socialisation and imagination impairments as well as their hypersensitive or hyposensitive sensitivities; as a result, their safety and security should be a key part of the design brief and considered throughout the project. Whilst the entry to the building was carefully considered, the general health and safety of the children were not as carefully considered. Pupils are able to operate some ironmongery and also open windows, which poses a serious health and security risk.
The Woodlands has a sensory room, allowing students a space to escape from excessive stimuli. Sensory rooms allow for autistic students to ‘recalibrate’ their senses and adjust to different environments. Students use the sensory space at the beginning of each day in order to help them prepare for learning and at the end of the day to help them relax (Bell, 2017).
There are only three classrooms with space for a total of eight children per classroom. Despite having few pupils, the classrooms are relatively large, as architect John Jenkins argues that the children attending the Woodlands “need a bit of elbow room” (Scott, 2009, pg.44). This also makes the environment more comfortable for autistic children to be in as they are less likely to unintentionally come into contact with each other.
Floor to ceiling windows use natural daylight as the main light source within the space and ceiling of lights illuminate the rear of the classroom and increase ventilation within the space. Large windows reduce the reliance on artificial lights in the classrooms (fig.35). However, teachers complained that the large views out to courtyard are too distracting for the children, making teaching difficult (Henry 2012). The increased visual stimuli can be distracting for autistic people, resulting in a lack of attention to the task at hand (National Autistic Society, 2016). This is in agreement with the opinion of Fletcher Thompson architects who find that “windows with exterior views may provide autistic students with undesirable distractions” (Henry, 2011). In an argument by Henry in 2012, this distraction could be due to the lack of vegetation within the exterior space, opposed to the view itself, as this has been found to negatively affect patients in healthcare facilities, office workers and residents of public housing (fig.36). To resolve this issue, opaque paper is used to cover three-quarters of the windows, reducing visual stimuli whilst still allowing some natural light to enter the space (fig.37-38).
The walls are painted in muted neutral colours, which are preferred by people on the autistic spectrum. The neutral colour palette reduces the intensity of stimuli within the learning environment, making the space more comfortable and provides a better learning environment (Gaines, Bourne, Pearson, Kleibrink, 2016 pg.151). Walls also have display spaces so that teachers are able to increase or decrease the amount of stimuli according to the needs of the pupils. Within the classrooms of the Woodlands, a change in flooring indicated the use of different spaces enabling autistic pupils to differentiate between play spaces and learning space.
Different classrooms are tailored to the specific needs of the children using them. The space used by younger pupils has a W.C. attached, enabling non-verbal children to access bathrooms without having to ask for permission to leave the classroom (Facey, 2017). Unlike the New Straun School in Scotland, there was a reduced amount of involvement from teachers and families during the design and construction process, which caused some difficulties for the end users as designers may not have fully understood the needs of the end user.
fig.35
fig.36
fig.38
fig.35
