Senior Captstone Project | Family United: A Retreat for Deaf Families

family United will focus on improving the home environment for families who have deaf or hard-of-hearing children. this will be done through counseling and therapy sessions, american sign language courses, along with various other things. as such, family united will need a building that functions seamlessly and communicates affectively. as well as providing adequate space and equipment needs for each individual area.

the building chosen to house Family United was designed for a different purpose and does not currently fit the needs of the client. the building will need a major renovation to properly help those that are deaf or hard of hearing (dhh). since the deaf rely on their eyes for all of their communication, it is imperative that the facility is designed so that all information can be seen quickly and clearly. things such as the wayfinding need to be added into the project and should be distinct, simple, and isolated (mishler & neider, 2017).

special emphasis on the acoustics and lighting needs to be taken into effect. the current lighting in the building is insufficient for the needs of family united. adding sufficient, as well as the ability to control lighting, is important to the design of the space and will increase the attention and engagement of the users of the space (guardino & antia 2012). lighting and noise can cause anyone, but especially those that are deaf, to be in discomfort. with acoustics, it has been proven that those with hearing loss or hearing disabilities, the amount of background noise can affect their ability to understand spoken language (crandell & smaldino, 2000). the location of the project currently has not taken acoustics into consideration. careful planning will need to be implemented when selecting finishes and materials, as well as the location of loud machinery.