Designing for pupils with the autism spectrum disorder: Case study of the Caudwell International Children's Centre, Newcastle, United Kingdom

The increasing number of ASD cases requires therapeutic centres and infrastructure in order that efficient and wide-ranging diagnosis can be carried out. One of such objects was established by John Caudwell and Trudi Beswick in Newcastle (UK) as "The Caudwell International Children's Centre'(CICC). The program of this centre is based on uniting the leading world-renowned experts in the field of ASD diagnosis and therapy, as well as supporting long-term care, improving the education results, and employment of people with ASD. The case study research, which is presented in this publication is to analyze the key perceived architectural elements of the CICC and results in an expert survey of the designed solutions. The acoustics, lighting, finishing materials, colors, ventilation and visual identification were the main criteria of the analysis. As an outcome of the interdisciplinary cooperation, the ASD space-defining data is collected. The result shows, that the architect was not only concerned about technical standards for physically disabled people but also took the neurodiverse pupils into consideration during the design process. Autism is classified as a group of disorders that affects communication, social interactions and stereotypical behavioral patterns. Each affected person consists of a different juxtaposition of these mechanisms and causes which are responsible for the developmental difficulties. The sensory sensitivity of people with autism has different aspects. It is not possible to develop a universal pattern that will work in any case. The basic factor involved in the perception of the building is the sensory stimuli. Considering the specificity of autism spectrum disorders and the unusual sensitivity of these people, it is a key element that needs to be implemented in a specialist design in the future.