Location: Pattaya, Thailand.

Architect: Creative Crews.

The Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind’s principal was consulted in the design of a new facility to provide a better learning environment for students with varying degrees of visual impairment. The aim of the program is to equip all students with fundamental skills for future livelihoods beyond the school’s gate. The new multi-sensory cube was designed to be flexible and cater to the needs of the students. The existing library and adjoining balcony were transformed into a new multi-sensory facility for young children, designed in alignment with Pre-Braille Curricula. The facility is finished in a vibrant mix of materials and texture, and all six surfaces are designed to be interacted with. The children move through the four walls as they progress through the curriculum, nurturing their senses. The facility includes touch, size relationships, texture and weight, and recognition of potential harm from daily life. Scented capsules are designed to teach pupils about the smell of potential harm such as fire, smoke, and gas leakage. Sound specialists made binaural recordings of various environments to stimulate students’ perception of the world. The lighting is designed to exercise and stimulate visibility in low vision children. The floor is embedded with braille tactile letters, Thai, English, and numbers for basic braille introduction. The project intends to be a prototype for cost-effective multi-sensory facilities aimed specifically at creating firm foundations from which individuals can grow and prosper.

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