Listen: A Sensory Experience

Abstract

This thesis project uses interpretive and evaluative research methods to examine how best to bring two social circles together through intentional design, education, and immersion. The project is a design proposal for a sensory museum for the hearing population located in San Francisco, California. This project is a combination of an immersive experience facility combined with a theatre space to promote the exchange of information, culture, and education for all. Though architects follow guidelines for ADA requirement, in those codes there is little said about designing in regards to deaf space. This museum is a place for the deaf and hearing communities to come together in an environment built to raise an awareness into a world without sound. The different spaces incorporated highlight innovative technologies, materials, and architectural design. With the help of the National Theatre for the Deaf and Gallaudet University, this project attempts to use history, experience, and architecture to bridge the gap between two social communities creating a better understanding and more opportunities for both. This project aims to create an immersive experience into a world without sound in order to bring to the forefront an awareness for the everyday challenges it brings. By focusing on spatial arrangement, materiality and the implementation of technology, I create spaces that promote the exchange of education, culture, and community between the Deaf and hearing populations.