in Selinunte
The Metamorphosis
Project by:
Grace Rankin, Laura Duke
STUDIO X
The Metamorphosis is a Disability Camp with a focus on deconstructing and exploring how we think, learn, and create. Physical Impairment is a state of being most humans will experience in our lives, and the camp utilizes Universal Design to form architectural experiences that benefit everyone. Engaging our five senses in more ‘unconventional’ ways, the program seeks to challenge the divide between able-bodied experiences and disabled-bodied experiences. We started by analyzing the camp routine and program from an experiential perspective. This accumulated to mapping the five senses within the site, and then overlaying the senses in a variety of combos. Working with our circulation and program studies, the sensory map guides our approach to the architectural design.
The primary architectural language is intertwining circulation with destination. Heavily carving into the site, the camp creates multiple layers that strategically intersect at each given program. Each intersection marks a new transition from one sensory experience to the next, and thus the camp’s buildings become centers of exchange and interaction.
The Camp’s design focuses on a system of accessibility that adapts to the sensory experiences of a variety of spaces. The hope behind this approach is to showcase how a selected set of elements can be transformed to assist and enhance the daily activities of physically impaired people without sidelining their lives to an able-bodied default.
