Fifteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The Multisensory Museum is a project at the interface of design research and architectural practice. It is grounded in research on how the knowledge people with disability experience possess has potential to enrich (museum) architecture. In an attempt to socially innovate architectural practice, we developed a codesign method that engages people with disability experience and architects together in a creative endeavor. We involved three groups of people (with a vision, auditory, and mobility impairment) to design a multisensory museum gallery that engages visitors’ whole bodily perception. Analysis of the final design explores the potential of architecture to express issues of inclusion in museums. The gallery is conceived with one overall multisensory aesthetic forming three spaces: the corridor brings visitors in a state of corporeal awareness through its close and soft aesthetics, the foyer links the gallery to the museum’s vertical circulation, the art exhibit fosters a dialogue with the work on display and with fellow visitors through comfortable aesthetics. The project went through several stages: the actual co-design process, an exhibition on the co-design process, a subsequent design phase refining the concept into one overall aesthetic gesture, the implementation of the design, and a symposium/opening of the gallery to the public. The project demonstrates how an inclusive design approach in architecture can lead to a stimulating space for all to enjoy, and how disability experience can enrich museum architecture beyond accessibility and give expression to aspects of inclusion through a multisensory environment that makes everyone more aware of their body.