Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Prof. of Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tehran Uni.,Tehran, Iran.
2 PhD. student of Kish International Campus, Uni. of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The blind must be able to understand urban spaces and active presence in society and benefit from public facilities. But today, the unplanned development of big cities and wide visual diversity has caused the illegibility of physical environments for people with limited mobility, especially the blind, and has reduced the vitality of spaces and citizens. The goal of this research is to create equal opportunities and Barrier free, independent, comfortable and safe access to the physical environment (which is considered one of the principles of sustainable architecture).Accordingly, the present study is an attempt to explain the criteria for legibility of the artificial environment for blind people in order to provide sustainable architectural principles to enable their active, safe, independent and unobstructed presence in the environment.
In order to achieve the mentioned goals, The factors affecting the perception of blind people, the concepts of environmental legibility and the principles of sustainable architecture were first investigated. Then, a questionnaire consisting of semi-structured quality questions was randomly prepared to assess the needs of blind people in different age, educational and gender groups.
The qualitative findings obtained were analyzed through MAXQDA qualitative software. First, the obtained answers were coded and with the help of modeling, the main and sub-themes were determined and the necessary diagrams were drawn.
The findings show that the way of refining the senses, reacting, organizing and valuing what is felt is different in people. These differences depend on age, gender, level of education, social status, culture, ethnicity, lifestyle and duration of residence, which can affect the mental image of people and the perception of the environment.
In order to move safely in the environment, it is necessary for The blind person to have a correct understanding of the environment. Spaces must be unobstructed and continuous so that they can perceive them one after the other. If the scale of the space can be felt and perceived, safe and accessible movement are more possible. If the flow of activities in the space is more continuous during the day and night, it creates a more secure feeling in people. Confinement, with the aim of creating a human scale, a sense of intimacy and security in the environment, simplicity, stability and dynamism, order, continuity, scale and proportion, contrast, territory, composition, comprehensible space with the help of mental imagery, permeability, diversity, flexibility Responsiveness, sensory richness affects the perception of the environment.
The legibility of the environment on two levels of physical form and behavioral and activity pattern forms a clear concept of the environment in the mental image of the blind. Non-visual mental images such as auditory, tactile and smell mental images of important events remain in the minds of blind people for a long time and they can recognize new environments and understand the environment by recalling past memories and experiences.
The results of the study show that the principles of sustainable architecture such as legibility, safety, unobstructed and accessible environment with non-visual quality, in the design can increase the perception of the environment in the absolutely blind. This will provide more independence and the possibility of active presence of blind people in public and urban spaces. By creating a sense of security, dependence on the place and strengthening the relationships between people in the environment, it is possible to help the formation of people's mental image. Finally, the proposed solutions were presented in order to implement the above principles.
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