Perception of space and architectural form of children with Asperger’s syndrome as a universal guideline for education of space design

Abstract

A child’s perception is significantly different from that of an adult. His attention is directed to other areas of architecture and space, not only due to physical conditions, but also due to the level of mental and emotional development. In connection with the development of science, more and more diseases and developmental disorders are also recognizable in high-functioning children. One of them is Asperger’s Syndrome, which allows the child to function in a typical primary school, but is an obstacle for him and his environment. Children with Asperger’s Syndrome are distinguished by their behaviour in the architectural space. Their motor coordination can be impaired or simply different from most children. Sensory disturbances can hinder learning, concentration and even affect their perception in the peer group. Designing architecture should be tailored to its users, hence the knowledge of the perception of the recipient should be particularly important for the designer. Designing educational space, or areas of educational space it is particularly important because the child has specific goals to achieve there, significant time of his childhood is spent there, and the future adult is shaped to a large extent there. Due to dynamically developing teaching methods, development of science in this area, changing expectations of parents and legal conditions, architecture should also evolve so that it can be one of the factors supporting the development and education of a young person. The article will analyze the perception of space and form of a child with Asperger’s syndrome, determine its spatial needs and compare them with the needs of children without developmental disorders. The presented results of the analyzes will allow to define the field of common and different spatial conditions. The research is aimed at determining whether it is justifiable to apply the idea of Universal Architecture in the design of educational space, that is, answer the question "is designing for the most demanding user in the educational space also beneficial for others".