APPENDIX – A

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Interview with Benny Kuriakose on the Design for the Sankalp School in Chennai 31-10-21

Q: How did your studio first get involved in this project? What attracted you to the project?

Probe: Were there any requirements for the centre, as set by the clients? If so, what were these requirements?

A: It was the Sankalp Trust who first approached us with this project. We accepted the proposal and agreed to visit the site at Thiruvalluvar Street, Kollapancheri, Chennai. There was already an existing building on the site, the Ebenezer home for children and the elderly. We were then informed on all the requirements for the project, which included, no. of classrooms, sizes of classrooms, sensory rooms, gardens and so on. They gave us a very specific program, according to which we were expected to develop a scheme.

Q: What functions was the centre designed for? What were the targeted user groups the centre was designed for?

A: We had the main learning centre along with a dedicated early intervention centre for younger children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There was also Sahayika, which was a skill training centre for adolescents with ASD along with the Open School, for children with Specific Learning Disability (SLD).

Q: What strength was the centre designed for?

A: Around 300-400 students.

Q: What were the key considerations made during the design process?

A: At first, we tried to look for research material along the lines of standards of schools for autistic children. There seemed to be a clear lack of research in the subject as we

couldn’t find any such prescriptive documents or a particular uniform approach to design, which forced us to start from scratch using a few basic principles.

We found that the school at that point in time had classrooms with 6-8 children in each classroom, which we found to be inadequate. The staff had been adjusting to existing structures to meet their purposes and requirements, and as a result, while their teaching methods were innovative, the architecture of the spaces they utilised left something to be desired.

We focussed on creating an environment that was relaxing and calming for the students, at the same time we wanted to give them a normal school experience. As a result, we ended up deviating from some of the requirements we had received at the start. We expected that our scheme would get rejected, but the clients agreed with our approach and from then on they were completely involved in the design process and remained open to many of our ideas.

Q: Were there any major changes made to the program during the design progress? If so, what were the reasons for these changes?

A: According to their program, the classrooms were one unit and then escape spaces for the individual were allocated to another room. We found this to be unnecessary and insisted that we increase the size of one classroom unit, to around 700-800 sq ft., so that we could accommodate spaces for different methods of teaching and activities such as reading and writing spaces, yoga spaces, arts & crafts areas and so on. These classrooms can still just serve around 8-10 students and should also include escape spaces for an individual student. So we wanted to accommodate all the activities and requirements within a larger classroom module, serving the same no. of students. The clients ended up agreeing to this change.

Probe: Have all the planned functions been accounted for in the complex? What are the significant differences from what was designed to what has actually been built?

There were countless discussions on the design amongst three teams- our own studio team, the teachers at the school, and the engineering team. This led to many revisions that occurred at different stages. The open school was one function that did not end up getting built due to lack of funds.

Q: How have the needs of children on the spectrum and understanding of impact of environment on behavioural intervention been considered while designing the complex? What aspects of your design scheme do you think best reflect these considerations?

Probe: Did you look at other design schemes for similar centres as a reference? If so, could you name a few?

A: At the time, that is, 3 years ago, we did not find a lot of reference material or projects. As a result, we just went back to the basic principles. Our main idea was to design, keeping in mind the specific requirements for autistic children. Of course, each autistic child is different, with specific issues, but we wished to come up with a design that could provide all students with a conducive learning environment, while being receptive to all their symptoms in general.

Q: Safety is an important factor at these centres, keeping in mind that it is a school, along with the fact that the students at the school may have a tendency to get overwhelmed. How do you think the design fares in assuring safety to its students as well as their parents?

Probe: Do you think the safety measures applied in the design restrict the freedom of its students to an extent? What measures have you taken to counteract this?

A: We made sure that there were no sharp corners, provided railings wherever necessary. Classrooms for younger children were attached to courtyards with large verandahs to ensure that teachers could always keep an eye on the students.

Q: For students on the spectrum, involvement in community is essential in building the child’s social and cognitive skills. Have spaces been designed for community outreach activities? If so, what is the nature of these spaces (Open/closed)?

A: It wasn’t a requirement for the clients to have dedicated spaces for such activities. Spaces have been designed for activities like training programs for teachers. There is also an auditorium, along with some meeting halls and green spaces that can be used for community based activities.

Q: How have the spaces within the centre been organised to minimize confusion amongst its students? What wayfinding systems have been planned to aid the navigation process?

A: We are currently working with the school to finalise the wayfinding systems. As of now, we have planned to introduce pictographs at different points in the centre, to minimise confusion for students while walking through the centre. Most of the students have a hard time processing textual information, hence using wayfinding systems based on visuals becomes important.

Q: How do you keep different spaces within the centre visually and spatially separate? Have specific ‘sensory qualities’ been assigned to spaces to help children distinguish between spaces?

A: There are sensory gardens and sensory rooms that provide specific sensory experiences. Landscaping for the sensory garden is being done in a different manner, where we’re trying using plants with specific smells that would as a result give a certain character to the area as such. Different parts of the centre such as the admin and staff areas have been painted in different colours so that it becomes easier for the student to situate themselves in the centre at any point in time.

Q: Routine is important for a child on the spectrum. Have the spaces within the centre organised in any specific manner so as to provide the children with a sense of routine?

A: In terms of arrangement of functions, we mainly followed the school's lead on placement of different spaces as they had more expertise and knowledge on what would be suitable for the students.

Q: How have green spaces been utilised in the design? What is the relationship between the built and green spaces in the design?

A: There are multiple courtyards with greens to ensure that almost all spaces have connections to some kind of open space. Also, the setback areas between the building footprint and site boundary have been used as different kinds of open spaces such as vegetable gardens, sensory gardens, playgrounds and so on.

Q: Are there transition spaces provided in the centre, between low stimulus (such as classrooms) and high stimulus functions (music, crafts rooms and so on)? How is this transition dealt with to minimise abruptness and confusion for the students?

A: A lot of the spaces in the centre are connected to courtyards with very wide verandahs (around 10-11 ft.). These serve as transition spaces between different kinds of functions.

Q: Are there any escape spaces provided in the centre to function as leisure spaces for the students? If so, what are these spaces?

A: Each classroom has a few isolation spaces which students can use as escape spaces. Apart from these there are also sensory rooms and gardens that serve as escape spaces, which were designed according to the requirements of the school. We tried to ensure that each of these spaces provided a specific sensory experience, while also trying to ensure a balance of the senses in order to avoid overstimulation.

Q: Are there spaces provided for sensory stimulation, such as water bodies for water therapy? If so, what are these spaces?

A: There is a water play area that has been planned. Apart from this, we have a sensory garden and sensory rooms for stimulation purposes.

Q: Are there dedicated play spaces in the centre? Are there separate spaces planned for ‘structured play’ and ‘free play’? If so, how do they differ from one another?

A: There are different kinds of play spaces planned in the centre such as playgrounds for younger and older children, skating, cycling tracks and so on. There are also spaces where students can learn life skills such as cooking, housekeeping and so on.

Q: It becomes extremely important to have control over any stimuli within the centre that might disturb the child or distract him/her from the activities taking place at the learning centre. Is the centre located in a secluded region, or are there activities around the centre in its context that might disturb the activities within?

Probe: How do you deal with unwanted external stimuli? Have any allowances been made in the design to minimise external stimuli for the students?

A: The project is situated in a quiet, residential area located in a village in the outskirts of Chennai city, so we do not anticipate a lot of disturbances from the outside.

Q: Have considerations been made in the design of spaces with respect to acoustics and lighting? How so?

A: Due to the multiple courtyards, almost all spaces in the school receive a fair amount of natural light and also perform well in terms of cross ventilation. Windows for classrooms have timber panels at the bottom and glass at the top, to bring natural light in, while preventing any distractions for the students such as the view outside.

Q: Have colour, materials or textures been used in the spaces in any major way? How so?

A: Muted colours have been used to demarcate different zones within the centre. There are also certain areas in the centre where we’ve used different materials, but majorly in the classrooms we followed the same material throughout. We tried to reduce the ‘institutional’ character that schools normally have. Although we had to keep some of it in, as the school felt that it was important for the children to have a typical ‘school’ experience.

Q: What are the spaces that you anticipate students will be attracted to the most? What do you think it is about these spaces that will make them work?

A: Parts of the school will actually be opening offline next week. Although we expect all the spaces we planned to function the way we intended, it’ll be interesting to see where all we’ve managed to be successful.

Q: Is there any scope for future expansion in your design? If Yes, How so?

A: The Open School is yet to be constructed. If some funding comes in, we might be able to complete it in the future. The school is also planning to start other centres with different functions with the Sankalp School serving as the main campus.

106 | Design of Learning Environments for Children on the Autism Spectrum