MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE
Julia Krulicki—Ontario Association of Architects Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and/or Truth & Reconciliation Award
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Julia Krulicki—Ontario Association of Architects Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and/or Truth & Reconciliation Award
About the Award
The Ontario Association of Architects Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and/or Truth & Reconciliation Award:
To recognize two students with exemplary work related to the topics of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and/or Truth & Reconciliation, in any year of the undergraduate or graduate Architectural Science programs. This award is intended to recognize exceptional leadership through design excellence combined with exemplary approaches to projects and/or assignments as they relate to Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion and/or Truth and Reconciliation.
Sensing Body, Sensing Building: Considering Atypical Perceptions of Space
While the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) includes psychological conditions such as mental impairment, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and mental disorders under the term “disability”, there are no explicit guidelines in place that address design considerations to make built environments more accessible to individuals that experience them. My thesis focuses on increasing autonomy and agency in the built environment for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who may not have access to resources provided to people under 18 years old. ASD exists across a broad spectrum, characterized by difficulties in sensory integration processing that manifest as many levels of over- and under-stimulation of users. To consider the vast differences in user experience for this demographic, the research for this thesis collects visual, oral, and written narratives across podcasts and research papers. First-person accounts of sensory experience of those with ASD are addressed in these various interviews, and are a valuable resource as I am to amplify these under-addressed perspectives. After documenting these narratives, architectural conditions will be extracted that begin to form a framework for improved sensory design conditions.
Pursuing an embodied approach to the architectural design process, the first method of design research for this thesis includes the visual mapping of firsthand spatial experiences. Several site visits to recreation centers in the cities of Hamilton and Toronto will inform various visual representations to articulate how sensory stimuli impact the experience of the built environment. In tandem, a catalogue of architectural conditions that affect sensory experiences will be created to cross-reference architectural elements with each sensory system. Using first-hand accounts of sensory experiences from written, oral, and visual narratives of those with ASD, the matrix can be populated and further explored. At the end of this investigation, a variety of sensory experiences will be catalogued, and experimented with in various algorithms to understand how sensory systems interact with different architectural conditions. These design combinations can also be assessed for commonalities that can inform design decisions during the conception of the final design project.
Through a comparative analysis of existing design guidelines for neurodivergent users and various case studies in other countries, many of these resources emphasize the importance of user agency by providing design conditions of choice and flexibility. No two experiences are alike for those with ASD, therefore there is no one size fits all solution to comfortable sensory spaces. Creating spaces that leverage choice in levels of sensory stimuli can assist users with ASD in self-regulating their own sensory experiences. Through this creation of accessible space by means of sensory zoning and flexibility, the built environment can host a more diverse and inclusive population not just for those with ASD, but for neurotypical users as well.
As my graduate thesis project continues to progress, I look forward to further exploring how a sensory design framework for those with ASD will develop, and can contribute to the profession’s growing dialogue of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion concepts in architectural praxis.
Themes of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
My graduate thesis explores Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) concepts through a multidisciplinary research approach combining psychological concepts, narratives, and architecture. These ideas fundamentally relate to EDI goals: equity in removing invisible barriers, diversity in amplifying unique individual perspectives, and inclusivity in fostering respect and agency for all individuals. By applying ideas of empathy and enactivism towards sourced interviews of neurodivergent user experience, a framework for architecture that considers the sensory needs of people with varied psychological needs, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in particular, will emerge.
My education at TMU has continued to enrich my architectural pursuit of promoting a deeper understanding of a wide range of subjective experiences, and I am so grateful to have received this award.
The Ontario Association of Architects Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and/or Truth & Reconciliation Award:
To recognize two students with exemplary work related to the topics of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and/or Truth & Reconciliation, in any year of the undergraduate or graduate Architectural Science programs. This award is intended to recognize exceptional leadership through design excellence combined with exemplary approaches to projects and/or assignments as they relate to Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion and/or Truth and Reconciliation.
Sensing Body, Sensing Building: Considering Atypical Perceptions of Space
While the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) includes psychological conditions such as mental impairment, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and mental disorders under the term “disability”, there are no explicit guidelines in place that address design considerations to make built environments more accessible to individuals that experience them. My thesis focuses on increasing autonomy and agency in the built environment for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who may not have access to resources provided to people under 18 years old. ASD exists across a broad spectrum, characterized by difficulties in sensory integration processing that manifest as many levels of over- and under-stimulation of users. To consider the vast differences in user experience for this demographic, the research for this thesis collects visual, oral, and written narratives across podcasts and research papers. First-person accounts of sensory experience of those with ASD are addressed in these various interviews, and are a valuable resource as I am to amplify these under-addressed perspectives. After documenting these narratives, architectural conditions will be extracted that begin to form a framework for improved sensory design conditions.
Pursuing an embodied approach to the architectural design process, the first method of design research for this thesis includes the visual mapping of firsthand spatial experiences. Several site visits to recreation centers in the cities of Hamilton and Toronto will inform various visual representations to articulate how sensory stimuli impact the experience of the built environment. In tandem, a catalogue of architectural conditions that affect sensory experiences will be created to cross-reference architectural elements with each sensory system. Using first-hand accounts of sensory experiences from written, oral, and visual narratives of those with ASD, the matrix can be populated and further explored. At the end of this investigation, a variety of sensory experiences will be catalogued, and experimented with in various algorithms to understand how sensory systems interact with different architectural conditions. These design combinations can also be assessed for commonalities that can inform design decisions during the conception of the final design project.
Through a comparative analysis of existing design guidelines for neurodivergent users and various case studies in other countries, many of these resources emphasize the importance of user agency by providing design conditions of choice and flexibility. No two experiences are alike for those with ASD, therefore there is no one size fits all solution to comfortable sensory spaces. Creating spaces that leverage choice in levels of sensory stimuli can assist users with ASD in self-regulating their own sensory experiences. Through this creation of accessible space by means of sensory zoning and flexibility, the built environment can host a more diverse and inclusive population not just for those with ASD, but for neurotypical users as well.
As my graduate thesis project continues to progress, I look forward to further exploring how a sensory design framework for those with ASD will develop, and can contribute to the profession’s growing dialogue of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion concepts in architectural praxis.
Themes of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
My graduate thesis explores Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) concepts through a multidisciplinary research approach combining psychological concepts, narratives, and architecture. These ideas fundamentally relate to EDI goals: equity in removing invisible barriers, diversity in amplifying unique individual perspectives, and inclusivity in fostering respect and agency for all individuals. By applying ideas of empathy and enactivism towards sourced interviews of neurodivergent user experience, a framework for architecture that considers the sensory needs of people with varied psychological needs, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in particular, will emerge.
My education at TMU has continued to enrich my architectural pursuit of promoting a deeper understanding of a wide range of subjective experiences, and I am so grateful to have received this award.
