Room: D139-140

Audience: Educators and Architects

Call to Action: 

1. Create an awareness of the senses to inform Trauma-Informed Design strategies.
2. Design for all learners, experiencing varying levels and categories of trauma, the roots of which may have been abuse, race or differing physical and mental abilities.
3. Create learning spaces that address and soothe senses, thus aiding in recovery and healing from trauma.

Abstract: The Human experience consists entirely of information conveyed to the brain by our sensing organs – touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste, spatial awareness, and balance. We perceive, understand, and process the world around us via our senses. Designing spaces that transmit healing experiences via each sense, aids in creating spaces and built environments that intentionally create feelings of safety, healing, and resilience in addition to aesthetic beauty. Healing spaces have common characteristics; however, trauma is caused by a vast diversity of sources. Trauma with abuse in myriad forms as the source may be layered over trauma caused by differing physical and mental abilities; and over trauma caused by race and gender identities. Acute, chronic, and generational trauma may be playing roles in varying degrees; and 57% of the student population experiences it first-hand, so it is imperative that it be addressed during design. Trauma-Informed Design is, therefore, designing for the senses. Recovery, healing, and resilience from trauma can be supported via the medium of the built environment by creating safety, community and belonging in the learning spaces we design.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the concept of trauma, adverse experiences, and trauma-informed design.
2. Learn about layered trauma experienced by learners with diverse physical and mental abilities.
3. Learn about design strategies for differently abled learners.
4. Through a discussion about perceiving space via the human senses, participants will learn techniques to develop sensibilities for trauma-informed design.