creative crews clads classroom with interactive braille walls in a thai school

bangkok based architecture firm creative crews, renovated the pattaya redemptorist school for the blind. the client’s social responsibility plan asked the firm to develop aid for children with disabilites, tackling issues of visual impairment within the thai society. the project results in a colorful, dynamic strategy to encourage students to learn through play. 

all images © pichan sujaritsatit

balcony: learning through play

creative crews’ design resulted from conversations with the school’s principal as the new facility was conceived to provide a new learning environment necessary to supplement the program the school wanted to offer. the school enrols students with varying degrees of visual impairment and abilities, thus the facility needed to adequate to these needs while offering a versatile space. the program’s main objective is to equip all students with the fundamental skills for a successful future. designed in alignment with the ‘pre-braille’ curricula, the ailing library and adjoining balcony were transformed into a new multi-sensory facility for the children.

interactive facade: displaying glimpses of activities on the other side

the school building is a typical reinforced concrete structure with standard square rooms finished in plaster and paint. the new additions include the balcony’s play area and a classroom. the balcony’s open spatial quality and its highly transited location adjacent to the main circulation route, ensure its constant availability for the students. the existing balcony’s balustrade was replaced with an interactive façade, perforated with light holes, into which “learning pins” can be inserted. the new facade, which shows children activity on the outside, adds another layer to the existing school’s exterior.

interactive facade

the classroom is conceived as a new multi-sensory cube finished in vibrant mix of materials and texture, inserted in place of the existing library. inside the room, all six surfaces are designed to be interacted with in different ways. children move and learn along the four walls as they progress through the curriculum nurturing their senses. touch begins with the most basic shapes, then sizes relationships, texture and weight, to more complex shapes such as animals.

story time in the classroom

on top of the pre-braille curricula, children are taught to recognize potential harm in their daily life. in collaboration with a scent specialist, scented capsules are designed to teach students about the smell of potential harm such as fire, smoke, gas leakage etc. sound specialists made recordings of various environments to stimulate students’ perception of the world. the lighting is designed to exercise and stimulate visibility in low vision children while the floor is embedded with braille tactile letters in thai and english, and numbers for basic braille introduction. the project intends to be a prototype for cost effective, multi-sensory facilities that aim to provide foundations for children to grow and prosper.

magnetized cupboard doors

interior overview

renovated balcony

let me have a go too!

play equipment storage

learning pins

tactile braille tiles

inserted multi-sensory cube

project info:

project name: ‘classroom makeover for the blind’

location: pattaya, thailand

architecture firm: creative crews

collaborator: mana and friends, plan toys, withlight, manisara palawat, kantana studio

client: goldenland

photography: pichan sujaritsatit

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: cristina gomez | designboom