Living life through a lens

Abstract

To test this thesis, this project will explore the many facets that make up assisted and independent living for adults with ASD. A lot of research has gone into learning environments for the growing years but failing to look beyond those spaces and those years and into their housing/living communities. This thesis intends to merge these two typologies into a place that is geared towards a living-learning environment for these adults far beyond their years in the educational system. A place that does not remove them from society but can act as an intermediary place for them to live alongside peers, keeping their difficulties in mind. This place will be located near a large concentration of people where the necessities of their day-to-day can be met. This will in turn, create accessibility to the greater population and allow social work to be easily attended to. This thesis hopes to aid in furthering the study for three categories that lay beneath the umbrella of ASD. First, through a study of past projects and what we can learn from previous attempts at solving this problem. Secondly, adding to the discussion of how designers are to push individuals to the forefront as to highlight their differences and heighten their experiential potential spatially. Tertiary, explore the boundaries of what it means to create an environment for this community that connects to the society around cultivating and strengthening their learning process.