DESIGNING IN SILENCE: STRATEGIES FOR PARTICIPATIVE PROJECT WITH DEAF PEOPLE.
Deaf People, Architecture Design, Acessibility.
In Brazil, the theme of social inclusion and environmental issues of people with disabilities is being widely discussed in several areas. In Architecture, that debate has been linked to the concept of Universal Design (the basis for the guarantee of accessibility to the physical environment and the search for appropriate solutions to human diversity) and the strategies that promote the greater involvement of users in the design process. With regard to the participative project, it highlights the need that the professional have to master techniques to present the own proposals in a manner that is understandable to the client, whatever are the limitations of that person. By entering into this issue, this research investigates a method to facilitate communication between the designer and the deaf user (whose greatest limitations are precisely in the field of interpersonal communication), in order to enable: (i) the first understands the relationship of deaf with the built environment; (ii) the second considers the proposed design and participates actively in the process of its elaboration. Theoretically, the work relies on the concepts of participative project, Universal Design and DeafSpace and, empirically, is based on a simulation of a three-dimensional physical model to be manipulated by deaf people and that was accompanied by interviews and observations. Presented to the qualifying examination, this document exhibits partial results of a pilot study, in particular in assessing the application of tools and methodologies. The results indicate the effectiveness of the methodology used, although there is a need to make adjustments in the mockup, to be (maybe) supplemented by the use of technology for Virtual Reality.