Senses of Darkness: An Exploration of Blind Navigation Through Architecture

Based on the principle of sequential lessons for teaching orienteering, the program is a center that teaches navigation to people who are blind, located in the remains of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Through the use of materials, light, and this program of sequential patterns, the architecture focuses on heightening the working senses of the occupants using the progression throughout the building. This connection of the body and mind to architecture creates an awareness of space, unifying a perception of place, while bridging the old life to the new.