Vision Park

A Day Out at a Hospital.
Vision Park is located in the entrance of the Kobe Eye Center which conducts medical examinations, clinical research and treatment as well as clinical application and rehabilitation. It was conceived as a place where various people can come and go like a local park.It strives to give people with visual impairments the reassurance that they are not alone and to instill them with the courage to face life head-on. The space is designated by steps for safe enjoyment. Within the space, there are no guiding handrails nor tactile flooring indicating steps or obstacles. Here, people with visual impairments can enjoy themselves freely in a space that was designed not necessarily to minimize risk but rather to allow them to challenge themselves and explore new possibilities..
In aiming to design a space for the visually-impaired to enjoy, we implemented a series of layers that can help one orient themselves without relying on sight.In addition, we devised ways for the visually impaired to expand the use of their bodies such as laying out the furniture in such a way that it leads to an invisible center in the space, using different materials to vary the hardness and softness of the floor allowing the occupants to feel their way around with the bottoms of their feet, as well as using different colors to allow those with low eyesight to recognize the boundaries. This overlap of invisible layers becomes the terrain for the occupants to discover behaviors such as being themselves, immersing themselves, or daydreaming.