To successfully navigate around the city and through buildings, the blind and visuallyimpaired largely rely on the recognition of particular sounds or soundscapes which can be associated with a site or location within a building. Christopher Downey, an architect who lost his sight in 2008, will lead a tour detailing the experience of how the blind navigate streets and buildings and explain the challenges they encounter. Joshua Cushner of Arup will lead a discussion on key design principles and concepts used to create acoustic markers in buildings and outdoor environments. Attendees will then be grouped in teams to develop plans and strategies for implementing an Acoustic Wayfinding system for a particular building. The evening concludes with a discussion to share findings, generate ideas, analyze potential barriers and assess acoustic wayfindings’ overall relationship to universal design principles.

Program led by Christopher Downey, AIA and Joshua Cushner of Arup.