Cognitive accesibility, architecture, and the autism spectrum: Keys to design

By Berta Brusilovsky

This text deals fundamentally with design and architecture: the route of spatial recognition, which is the least known —or worked on— within the approaches of the autism spectrum given its difficulty in being synthesized in a paradigm or normative set. The objective is to create a framework to approach the design of environments and buildings, in order to facilitate spatial development in everyday life and, especially, in learning situations.
The spatial route, which is the project, creates:
- A set of spatial coordinates that liberates the user from the anguish of not recognizing, of not understanding the space in which he is developing. And that offer him the possibility of finding the way, directing him to where he needs or wants to go.
- Structure of the exterior and interior, with their corresponding activities placed in a comprenssible way through concepts of organization: functional and sensorial sequence of events. And creation of spaces for group and individual tasks, paying special attention to places of transition and recovery between opposite or different activities, both physical and emotional.
- The aspects that are developed in terms of recommendations are synthesized in a construct that brings together the aspects of general, functional, formal and sensory organization of plans, elevations and details. Achieving with these “person-space” adjustments a higher quality of personal life and of its affective and learning environment.
- Design components that in the case of autism should be considered in order to seek with the project greater facility of understanding, use and space-emotional development of people from childhood to adult life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Entimema
• Release date: Feb 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9788417528645

Berta Brusilovsky

Architect and urban planning technician, she has a Master’s Degree in Universal Accessibility and Design for All. A teacher of urban planning and historic centres, she has participated in a wide variety of national and international conferences. For more than twenty years she has been researching, creating and disseminating the “Design model for accessible spaces, sensory and cognitive spectrum”, with which she works by incorporating specialized teams and people with neurodiversity in the diagnosis and evaluation of environments and buildings. And for which she has received national and international awards, the last in 2023. She has a wide line of publications on urban planning, historical centres and sensory and cognitive accessibility, with a focus on neuroscience and architecture.

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COGNITIVE ACCESSIBILITY, ARCHITECTURE,

AND THE AUTISM SPECTRUM

KEYS TO DESIGN

BERTA BRUSILOVSKY

WITH THE COLLABORATION OF GEY LAGAR

© Berta Brusilovsky Filer. With the collaboration of Rosa de los Ángeles Fernández Lagar

© Entimema, 2021

Cover image: © Chad Baker / Photodisc / Getty images

Translated into English by SOMOS Traductores

ISBN: 978-84-17528-64-5

Colombia, 63 - 5º A 28016 Madrid

Tel.: [phone]

www.cyan.es

www.incipit.com

Cognitive accessibility, architecture, and the autism spectrum. Keys to design

The total or partial reproduction of this work by any means or process, known or unknown, including reprography and computer processing, and the distribution of copies by rental or public lending, is strictly forbidden without the written authorisation of the copyright holders, subject to the penalties established by law.

 INDEX

THE AUTHORS

FOREWORD

GETTING STARTED: A VISUAL GUIDE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. STRUCTURE

1.1.1. Brief explanations

1.2. THEORY AND EXPERIENCE

1.3. RESEARCH

1.3.1. Theory of mind

1.3.2. Central coherence theory

1.3.3. Sensory integration

1.3.4. Empathising-systematising (E-S) theory

1.3.5. Meaning in autism

1.3.6. Evolution and change

1.3.7. Specialised thinking

1.3.8. Contributions from neuroscience and psychology

1.3.9. Contributions from culture

1.4. DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE

2. COMPONENTS FOR DESIGN

2.1. INNOVATIVE APPROACH

2.1.1. Shapes

2.1.2. Colour

2.1.3. Identification routes

2.2. SPATIAL: TOPOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS

2.2.1. Organisation

2.2.2. Rooms

2.2.3. Nodes

2.2.4. Circuits

2.2.5. Synapses

2.2.6. Orientation

2.3. LEXICAL AND PHONOLOGICAL

2.3.1. Learning

2.4. GRAPHIC

2.4.1. Learning

2.5. SYMBOLS

2.6. DESIGN, CONDUCT, AND BEHAVIOUR

3. NEUROBIOLOGICAL COMPONENTS

3.1. NEUROBIOLOGICAL BASIS

3.1.1. Genetics of Autism

3.2. NEUROANATOMY

3.2.1. Brain tissue

3.2.2. Regions involved

3.3. SENSORY AFFERENTS

3.3.1. Visual

3.3.2. Hearing and language

3.3.3. Multi-channel

3.3.4. Touch

3.3.5. Vestibular

3.3.6. Proprioceptive

3.3.7. Modalities

3.4. PERCEPTION

3.4.1. Processing speed

3.4.2. Linguistic

3.4.3. Graphic

3.4.4. Movement

3.4.5. Modalities

3.5. COGNITION

3.5.1. Executive functions

3.5.2. Symbolisation

3.5.3. Abstraction and divergent thinking

3.5.4. Modalities in processing

3.5.5. Modalities in symbolisation

3.6. MOTOR EFFERENCES

3.6.1. Motor systems

3.6.2. Praxis system

3.6.3. Disruptive behaviours, drives

3.6.4. Modalities

3.7. MEMORIES

3.7.1. Learning

3.7.2. Where and how: phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

3.7.3. Modalities

3.8. ATTENTION

3.8.1. Attentional networks

3.8.2. Attentional loss

3.9. EMOTIONS

3.10. SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT

3.10.1. Modalities in the use of space

3.11. SENSE OF TIME

4. CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOUR

4.1. TYPES

4.1.1. Spatial

4.1.2. Social

4.1.3. Competences and skills

4.2. BEST PRACTICES IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

4.2.1. Sensory integration

4.2.2. The sensory diet

4.2.3. Working on stereotypy

4.3. FIRST-PERSON READINGS

5. GOOD DESIGN PRACTICE

5.1. THE CAMARGO CENTRE IN CHIHUAHUA

5.1.1. Environmental suitability

5.1.2. Spatial route

5.1.3. Treatment of playgrounds (courtyards)

5.1.4. Façade

5.2. CPEE LATORES

5.2.1. Organisation

5.2.2. Signage

5.3. PEANA PROJECT

5.3.1. Classroom organisation

5.4. TEACCH APPROACH

5.4.1. Rationale

5.5. CEIP VICENTE ALEIXANDRE

5.5.1. Organisation

5.6. FARM RESIDENCE IN VILLATOBAS, TOLEDO

5.6.1. Organisation

5.7. NERO NAS NURSERY

5.7.1. Organisation

5.8. URBAN GARDEN IN POBLENOU

5.9. CONCLUSIONES

6. DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1. SPATIAL ROUTE

6.1.1. Zoning

6.1.2. Shapes and colours

6.1.3. Globality and detail

6.1.4. Development and adaptation

6.1.5. Development and motor actions

6.1.6. Space and symbol

6.2. SPACE-TIME

6.2.1. Sunlight

6.2.2. Artificial lighting

6.3. COMPARTMENTALISATION OF SPACE

6.3.1. The sleeping space

6.3.2. The work/learning space

6.3.3. Furniture and closing systems

6.3.4. Environmental safety

6.4. CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

6.4.1. Libraries

6.4.2. Cinemas and theatres

6.4.3. Large areas

6.5. THE SENSORY DIET

6.6. MATERIALS

6.6.1. Floors

6.6.2. Zoning off space

6.6.3. Soundproofing

6.7. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

7. PLAYGROUNDS AND COURTYARDS

7.1. PLAYGROUNDS AND SOCIALISATION

7.2. INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUNDS (GEY LAGAR)

7.2.1. Concepts, foundations, and support

7.2.2. Inclusion

7.2.3. Patios y Parques Dinámicos y modelo MARE - Dynamic Playgrounds and Parks and the MARE model

8. FINAL WORDS

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

9.1. BIBLIOGRAPHY (PLAYGROUNDS AND COURTYARDS)

10. ANNEXES

ANNEX 1. IMAGES OF ACTIVITIES IN THERAPEUTIC SETTINGS

ANNEX 2. NEUROLOGICAL PROFILES AND SPATIAL SCENARIOS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

For Gropius, modernity was not dogma, but the choice to understand architecture as something flexible. It was also a philosophy of life capable of uniting the arts. Which is why he taught an attitude: he did not want to copy a style, he wanted to free himself from the unnecessary and to create genuine, original, and authentic forms out of the particular circumstances and needs of the people.

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa

What we must learn, more than anything else, is to try to see the world through the eyes and brain of a person with autism. When we are better able to understand what makes life difficult for him/her, we will be better able to remove obstacles and develop respect for all the effort that he/she makes in order to be able to live among us.

Theo Peeters

In order to recognise these obstacles, to understand them and to respond with spatial scenarios, I have written this book: architecture is the environment in which we as people develop, it is space, matter and form. But, above all, it is a spatial language to be understood, appreciated, and used, and for that it must be designed, page by page, like a good book.

Berta Brusilovsky Filer

THE AUTHORS

Berta Brusilovsky Filer

Architect, Urban Planning Technician and with a Master’s Degree in Universal Accessibility and Design for All from CSEU La Salle University. President of the Association for the Easy Understanding of Environments and Buildings.

Specialist in architecture, urban planning and historic centres. Since 2011 she has specialised in universal accessibility and the cognitive spectrum. She developed the Model for Designing Accessible Spaces. Cognitive Spectrum and its participative methodology. Since 2017 she has published works on neuroscience and architecture, and with this publication on architecture and autism she completes a tetralogy made up of: The Cognitive Accessibility Index. Considerations for Design; Cognitive Spatial Safety. Architecture, Brain and Mind; and Experiential and Therapeutic Buildings for Older Adults. Architecture, Behavioural Neurology and Neuropsychology. The latter is part of the useful materials section of the Best Practices Network of the Fundación Pilares.

For her research in neuroscience and architecture and design work she has received an Honourable Mention in the Friendly and Inclusive Spaces Award of the International Union of Architects (2017) as well as other national and international awards, including the Design for All Foundation Good Practice (2015) and the Design for All Foundation International Award (2020–2021).

She has written several publications and journal articles. She is a trainer on cognitive accessibility, architecture and neuroscience. She has also been invited to congresses and conferences on numerous occasions.

Rosa de los Ángeles Fernández Lagar

Known as Gey Lagar, she is the author of the social inclusion programmes: Patios y Parques Dinámicos, Detectives del Arte and the TEAyudo a Jugar application. A PhD candidate in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at the University of Murcia. University expert in autism spectrum disorder and new technologies applied to disability. Graduate in Geography and History, specialising in History of Art. Master’s degree in Business Management. Technician in Early Childhood Education. Director of Entramados, neurodevelopment support centre. Author of the books: Patios y Parques Dinámicos and Cuentos para sentir y jugar. Member of the Locomotor Apparatus and Sport Research Group at the University of Murcia. Therapist, trainer, and speaker at international congresses in relation to her research and professional development.

The authors with the artist Iyán Palacio

FOREWORD

When approaching the world of disability from nothing, you find a reality far removed from the initial preconceptions. First of all, the number of people with disabilities in Spain can be quite a surprise, 3.8 million; as is the number of families who live directly with disabilities, 25% of the population. Not to mention the scale of the network of associations, more than 8,000 social entities organised around CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities).

Several months of research into the development of disability policies in Spain have revealed the significant progress made in Spain over the last few decades. We have transformed the welfare model, in which people with disabilities were conceived as objects of welfare services, into a model based on subjective rights, recognised on an equal footing with the rest of the population.

This profound transformation places Spain at the forefront of disability policies worldwide. With the LIONDAU (Spanish Law on Equality, Non-Discrimination and Universal Accessibility) of 2003, we were ahead of the UN International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approved in 2006, and let us not forget that we were the second country to be reviewed under this treaty, and the first country in the world to be successfully reviewed for the second time in 2019.

We can now look back in the rear-view mirror, and all three sectors – the government, the private sector and organised civil society – can proudly celebrate this important milestone. However, the head lights shine onwards upon a series of threats that endanger the success of the Spanish model and all that its failure would entail.

Firstly, the risk of dying from the success of a sector that enjoys a high degree of social and political credibility. The 1999 Survey on Disabilities, Impairments and State of Health estimates that only 4% of people with disabilities belong to an association or social entity linked to disability¹. While such data is from a long time ago, the truth is the percentage has not changed substantially. This figure is important for two reasons: it relativises the social weight of the third sector of disability and warns of the strategic need to open up attractive spaces for the rest of society, professionals who are far removed from disability and who can surely contribute to knowledge and development. It is worth remembering that more than 30 million people in Spain hardly have or have had direct contact with persons with disabilities, they do not know their needs, their capacities, or even how to address them.

Secondly, the neglect of diversity within disability. Not all disabilities have evolved at the same pace. Inclusion is very uneven. Without forgetting the long way we still have to go, sensory disabilities are the doyens in the fight for their rights. With more than eighty years of social activism, they have achieved high levels of social inclusion which they have generously shared with other disabilities. Physical and intellectual disabilities have followed in their wake, and thanks to their work it is now possible to predict with great accuracy the level of educational, training, employment, or autonomous development of a person with one of these disabilities. This is not the case with the emerging disabilities: autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and mental illness. Psychosocial disabilities that, together with cerebral palsy, require research, material and human support, social awareness and knowledge, the elimination of stigmas, and clear commitments to affirmative action towards this important group within disabilities. In just two decades, the diagnosis of ASD has gone from 1/1,000 births to 1/100. Mental illness is the main cause of disability in practically all age groups, and the high rate among adolescents is of particular concern, as it is the leading cause of disability in children under the age of seventeen. On the other hand, people with cerebral palsy still encounter many physical, sensory, and cognitive barriers that accentuate their dependence and prevent them from enjoying a full and independent life. Disability in general must show solidarity with these disabilities and the entities that represent them. And finally, thirdly, the lack of universal accessibility. Guaranteeing rights also implies guaranteeing accessibility to those rights. The writer of this foreword is a firm believer that universal accessibility will soon be another indicator to measure the level of development of a society, such as life expectancy, access to education, or GDP. Indeed, the scope is even more ambitious: why not make it the fifth pillar of the welfare state? Universal accessibility will complement pensions, health, education, and dependency. It allows us to participate on an equal footing and benefits all citizens regardless of our age, origin, or capacities.

It is precisely these three threats that architect Berta Brusilovsky addresses in this new publication. Her generosity, commitment, and professional excellence in the service of persons with disabilities deserve public recognition. A dozen publications and several articles always focused on cognitive accessibility and, specifically, on accessibility for persons with ASD, the most vulnerable among the disabled.

This publication enriches Spanish knowledge on disability, contributes to the recognition of universal accessibility as a fundamental pillar of a more supportive, fairer, and inclusive State and confirms the motto that unites those of us who have decided to make disability our banner: What is good for disability is good for society.

Jesus Celada Director General of Disability Policies (2018–2021).Government of Spain

GETTING STARTED: A VISUAL GUIDE

An architectural space both is and means.

It is something tangible, with form, with volume, with presence.

It means a use, with users, and activities with a purpose.

The use of the architectural space goes hand in hand with the understanding of the characteristics of that space in terms of form and content. Persons on the autism spectrum are users of architecture. In this work, architect Berta Brusilovsky presents her model of cognitive accessibility and architecture for persons on the autism spectrum from the perspective of neuroscience.

In recent decades, physical accessibility has taken root and there is a tendency to build without architectural barriers. Nevertheless, it is still common that cognitive accessibility is not taken into account as a requirement for the correct and efficient execution of architectural spaces. The present work offers a path to follow within the framework of cognitive accessibility and architecture.

Persons on the autism spectrum may require a range of formal support, among which cognitive accessibility is included. The understanding of spaces facilitates personal autonomy, favouring self-esteem and favouring friendly experiences in different contexts. Educational centres, health centres, parks, playgrounds, homes etc., are often places with cognitive barriers. Let’s break them down.

For this book, the artistic work of Iyán Palacio Fernández (Oviedo, 2005) has served as a visual guide, especially that in which architecture takes centre stage. Artwork that Iyán has been developing since he was four years old, with bold strokes, and a wealth of creativity and detail. Through it he expresses and exposes his rich imagination. In his works, the distribution of the use of space, the spatial treatment of volume and the personal treatment of perspective stand out, as well as the rich stories contained in each image. In the selected works we can appreciate the wealth of his expression, which is sometimes influenced by German expressionism and sometimes by the graphical sources of the 21st century, and always by the author’s own creative force.

Gey Lagar

La Boca (The Mouth). Iyán Palacio

Mundos (Worlds). Iyán Palacio

Casa de la Isla White (White Island House). Iyán Palacio

La mansión del acantilado (The Mansion on The Cliff). Iyán Palacio

1. INTRODUCTION

Now, as I begin writing a new book – number 12 in the collection on the subject of cognitive accessibility – I believe it will be the end to the series that began in 2011, with my dissertation for the Master’s Degree in Accessibility and Design for All at the CSEU La Salle University (Aravaca, Madrid).

The previous works came one after the other and in sequence, from the moment the final work of the Master’s degree marked the direction it was to follow, a path that was paved thanks to the collaborations that allowed the text to be enriched in form, content and concepts. My initial enthusiasm has never waned; on the contrary, it has been renewed every time I finished one of the texts to begin the next one almost immediately.

The present book, which is the result of the same enthusiasm, will however be the last in this series as the theme which will be addressed brings the cycle to a close: that of diversity, which has encouraged me to investigate architecture from the perspective of neuroscience, a theme which I was not originally focused on, nor did I know how far I was going to go in studying and researching it.

Another reason that tells me perhaps this will be the last – although we should never say never to opportunities for creation – is the strange relationship that cognitive accessibility, neuroscience and architecture, so little studied and researched by disability and accessibility organisations, have maintained in their approaches and working methodologies. These are complex topics also for professional architects, whose interest I hope I have managed to spark thanks to their dissemination through various media, among them the Instituto de Formación Continuada del Colegio de Arquitectos de Madrid, which focused its attention on them by assigning me several courses, firstly on the elderly and later on autism.

The interest with which professional sectors of Latin American and European countries have received these innovations, incorporating them into their university teachings, projects and congresses or specialised conferences, is one more incentive to keep me on a research line that so far, for many years, has not ceased to motivate me.

Despite the difficult road and the barriers that exist in areas that are little researched – and which for this reason must be doubly justified – I have