The Disease and The Remedy, Unit2, AASchool, 2018-2019

Classrooms with no windows, so as to make of each learning activity an immersive, intense, memorable experience. The relationship with the outside is carefully curated through the design of a series of vaulted roofs, which allow for:

A controlled manipulation of the natural light (suitable for the autistic condition);

A subtle play with the rain, celebrated through the drawing of animated, dreamy waves in the ceilings, produced through an effect of reflection (like in caves and in the subterranean rooms of colonial Guatemala).

The spaces gradually open themselves to internal courtyards, each corresponding to a stage of development in the student’s journey, from apprentice to voyageur. Towards the end of the journey generous spaces allow for more intense social interaction, now mediated through a series of trompe l’oeil ceramic murals (an allusion to the public spaces of modern Guatemala), created with the aim of constantly reminding students and the wider public of the internal landscape of the autistic (and also of the so-called normal) mind.

Trompe l’oeil ceramic murals, a dream of an autistic kid may experience under sensory overload. ↑ Arm length cell room, for lighting control; meltdown; escape; recharge. 1:20 →

Study room, the shadow is constantly changing through the different time of the day, the roof of each classroom opened itself to the outworld, it could collect the reflection of the fluid, soft, and yielding rainwater, as if the fragile inner mind of an autistic kid. 1:20

Section model of the Lecture Hall, ceramic mural stage. 1:20

Section model of the Lecture Hall, entrance. 1:20

Section model of the Lecture Hall, entrance, structure study: proposed roof structure with the existing brick wall. 1:20