ACADIA 2015 Conference at University of Cincinnati

Sean Ahlquist will present the research paper "Social Sensory Architectures: Articulating Textile Hybrid Structures for Multi-sensory Responsiveness and Collaborative Play" at the ACADIA 2015 Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday 23 October 2015.

Abstract

This paper describes the development of the StretchPLAY prototype as a part of the Social Sensory Surfaces research project, focusing on the design of tactile and responsive environments for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  The project is directed specifically at issues with sensory processing, the inability of the nervous system to filter sensory input in order to determine an appropriate response. This can be referred to as a “traffic jam” of sensory data where the intensity of such unfiltered information leads to an over-intensified sensory experience, and ultimately a dis-regulated state. To create a sensory regulating environment, a tactile structure is developed integrating physical, visual and auditory feedback. The structure is defined as a textile hybrid system integrating a seamless knitted textile to form a continuous geometrically complex surface. Advancements in the fabrication of the boundary structure, of glass-fiber reinforced rods, enable the form to be more robustly structured than previous examples of textile hybrid or tent-like structures. The tensioned textile is activated as a tangible interface where sensing of touch and pressure on the surface triggers ranges of visual and auditory response. A single subject is studies, a five-year old girl with ASD, in order to tailor the technologies as a response to her unique sensory challenges. The project involves collaboration with students, researchers and faculty in the fields of architecture, computer science, information (human-computer interaction), music and civil engineering, along with practitioners in the field of ASD-based therapies.

Ahlquist, S.: 2015, Social Sensory Architectures: Articulating Textile Hybrid Structures for Multi-sensory Responsiveness and Collaborative Play, in: Combs L. and Perry, C. (eds.) ACADIA 15: Computational Ecologies [Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), Cincinnati, October, 2015, pp. 262-273. (online)