DAY 1 • TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER • 15.40 – 16.00
Sensory Mapping: the value of predictability in the built environment
Sensory maps help to provide advance information about the sensory characteristics of the built environment. By identifying non-architectural features such as noise, lighting, crowding, smells and opportunities for rest, sensory maps can support people to anticipate and navigate spaces with greater confidence, predictability, and control.
This session shares findings from research exploring the design and application of sensory maps, and how co-design processes that centre lived experience can shape these resources. Drawing on a literature review, co-design workshops and a global survey, the research examined how sensory maps can better reflect lived experience and support a range of neurotypes across the built environment.
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Understanding sensory maps, and how spatial/sensory predictability can support neurodivergent people
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Using a mixed-methods research process to understand the current design and use of sensory maps
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The importance of co-design, and valuing lived experience as expertise
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Future applications of sensory maps
Rebecca Adda, Inclusive Environments consultant, Buro Happold
Rebecca Adda
Rebecca is an Accessibility and Inclusion Specialist at Buro Happold. who is passionate about ensuring equitable access to the built environment, specialising in museums and cultural venues.
She has experience working with architects, clients and stakeholders to provide accessibility and inclusion advice through drawing reviews, reports, guidance writing, workshops and audits across various design stages.
Rebecca recently concluded an internal research initiative at Buro Happold on the design and application of sensory maps, and their benefits for neurodivergent people in the built environment.
This research culminated in a paper examining how co-design processes that centre lived experience can shape these resources for the better, and has since informed work with the Royal Albert Hall to support the development of a sensory map grounded in these principles.