Abstract
Researchers and designers each developed a particular vision on autism-friendly architecture. Because the basis of this vision is not always clear, questions arise about its meaning and value and about how it can be put to use. People with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum are central to these questions, yet risk to disappear from the picture. Refocusing the discourse about autism-friendly architecture on them was the aim of the explorative study reported here. Six autobiographies written by autistic (young) adults were analysed from two different viewpoints. First, concepts from design guidelines concerning autism-friendly architecture were confronted with fragments from these autobiographies. The second part of the analysis started from the autobiographies themselves. This analysis shows that concepts can be interpreted in multiple ways. They can reinforce but also counteract each other, thus asking for critical judgment. An open space is preferred by some autistic people because it affords having an overview, which increases predictability, and distancing oneself from others without being isolated. Others might like this space to be subdivided into several separate spaces, which affords a sense of structure or reduces sensory inputs present in one room. The six autobiographies provide a glimpse of autistic people’s world of experience. Analysing these is a first step in revealing what architecture can actually mean from their point of view. For them, the material environment has a prominent meaning that is, however, not always reducible to design guidelines. It offers them something to hold on to, relate to or structure their reality.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Differences exist between the notion of affordance as advanced by Gibson and that advanced by Norman (1999). However, a discussion of these differences transcends the scope of this article.
References
Ahrentzen, S. & Steele, K. (2009). Advancing full spectrum housing. Arizona Board of Regents. Phoenix. http://stardust.asu.edu/project-archive/advancing-full-spectrum-housing/
Albrecht, G. (2003). Disability values, representations and realities. In P. Devlieger, F. Rusch, & D. Pfeiffer (Eds.), Rethinking disability (pp. 27–44). Antwerp: Garant.
APA. DSM-5. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Asperger, H. (1944). Autistic psychopathy in childhood (Autistischen Psychopathen im Kindesalter, U. Frith, Trans.). In U. Frith (Ed.) (1997). Autism and Asperger Syndrome (pp. 37–92). Cambridge: CUP.
Baumers, S., & Heylighen, A. (2010). Harnessing different dimensions of space. In: P. M. Langdon, P. J. Clarkson, & P. Robinson (Eds.), Designing inclusive interactions (pp. 13–23). London: Springer Verlag.
Beaver, C. (2011). Designing environments for children and adults on the autism spectrum. Good Autism Practice, 12(1), 7–11.
Bettelheim, B. (1967). The empty fortress. New York: The Free Press.
Bogdashina, O. (2003). Sensory perceptual issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Braddock, D. L., Hemp, R. E., & Rizzolo, M. C. (2008). The state of the states in developmental disabilities (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Brand, A. (2010). Living in the community. London: Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art.
Coolen, H. (2006). The meaning of dwellings. Housing, Theory & Society, 23(4), 185–201.
Delacato, C. H. (1974). The ultimate stranger. Novato: Academic Therapy Publications.
Delfos, M. F. (2005). Een vreemde wereld [A strange world]. Amsterdam: uitgeverij SWP.
Dierckx de Casterle, B., Gastmans, C., Bryon, E., & Denier, Y. (2012). QUAGOL. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 49, 360–371.
Dumortier, D. (2002). Van een andere planeet [From a different planet]. Antwerp: Houtekiet.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245.
Gerland, G. 1996. A real person. London: Souvenir Press (Trans. as: Een echt mens: Autobiografie van een autist. Antwerp: Houtekiet, 1998).
Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Hopewell, NJ: Houghton Mifflin.
Grandin, T. (1995). Thinking in pictures and other reports from my life with autism. New York: Doubleday.
Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.
Khare, R., & Mullick, A. (2009). Incorporating the behavioral dimension in designing inclusive learning environments for autism. Archnet-International Journal of Architectural Research, 3(3), 45–64.
Kinnaer, M., Baumers, S., Heylighen, A. (2014). How do people with autism (like to) live?. In: P. Langdon, J. Lazar, A. Heylighen, & H. Dong (Eds.), Inclusive designing: Joining usability, accessibility, and inclusion (pp. 175–185). London: Springer Verlag.
Klonovsky, M. (1993). Vorwort. In B. Sellin (Ed.), Ich will kein Inmich mehr sein. Kiepenheuer & Witsch: Köln.
Landschip, & Modderman, L. (2004). Dubbelklik [Double click]. Berchem: EPO.
Lee O’Neill, J. (1999). Through the eyes of aliens. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Maier, J. R. A., & Fadel, G. M. (2009). An affordance-based approach to architectural theory, design, and practice. Design Studies, 30(4), 393–414.
Mostafa, M. (2007). An architecture for Autism. Archnet-IJAR, 2(1), 189–211.
Mostafa, M. (2010). Housing adaption for adults with autistic spectrum disorder. Open House International, 35(1), 37–48.
Noens, I., & van Berckelaer-Onnes, I. (2004). Making sense in a fragmentary world. Autism, 8(2), 197–218.
Norman, D. (1999). Affordance, conventions, and design. Interactions, 6(3), 38–42.
Rajendran, G., & Mitchell, P. (2007). Cognitive theories of autism. Developmental Review, 27(2), 224–260.
Sánchez, P. A., Vázquez, F. S., & Serrano, L. A. (2011). Autism and the built environment. In T. Willliams (Ed.), Autism spectrum disorders (pp. 363–380). Croatia: InTech.
Scott, I. (2009). Designing learning spaces for children on the autism spectrum. Good Autism Practice, 10(1), 36–51.
Venderbosch, S. (2008). Een plek om te leven: een onderzoek naar de leefsituatie van mensen met autisme. Nederlandse Vereniging voor Autisme.
Vogel, C. (2008). Classroom design for living and learning with autism. Autism Asperger’s Digest, 3, 30–40.
Whitehurst, T. (2006). The impact of building design on children with autistic spectrum disorders. Good Autism Practice, 7(1), 31–38.
Willey, L. H. (1999). Pretending to be normal. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Williams, S., & Boult, M. (2009). Post action reviews: Property A, South Oxfordshire and Property B, West. Oxfordshire: Det Norske Veritas Ltd.
Wing, L. (1997). The history of ideas on autism. Autism, 1, 13–23.
Wing, L., & Potter, D. (2002). The epidemiology of autistic spectrum disorders. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 8(3), 151–161.
Wolfe, J. M., Kluender, K. R., & Levi, D. M. (2009). Sensation and Perception (2nd ed.). Sunderland: Sinauer Associates.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this article.
Conflict of interest
This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 201673, and the Department of Architecture.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kinnaer, M., Baumers, S. & Heylighen, A. Autism-friendly architecture from the outside in and the inside out: an explorative study based on autobiographies of autistic people. J Hous and the Built Environ 31, 179–195 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-015-9451-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-015-9451-8