Sensory Design
2. Ideas and inspiration
It is worth remembering that there are many sensations we experience
that are not formally categorised as one of the five senses, for example
gravity, temperature, change, space and enclosure. The following lists
are intended to offer some ideas that highlight the many different sensory
experiences.
Looking, seeing
- Colour: Plants offer a complete spectrum of colour
with the added delight of changes throughout the different seasons.
Consider flowers, leaves, bark, berries, lichens and mosses. In addition,
single colour themed areas can be considered that can be used to explore
moods and atmosphere. Hard materials can provide a richness of colours
and textures (stone, old brick, gravel, slate) or simple materials can
be used to create patterns of colour (mosaics, murals, paving). Also
consider changes in appearance and colour of materials when wet and
dry (pebbles in water).
- Shape: Most objects can be used although many natural
materials are quite complex shapes. For simple, distinctive shapes consider;
leaves (sycamore, beech, ash), fruits (apples, currants, rose hips),
flowers (daisy, poppy, bell flowers), stems (bamboo canes, dead nettle
- square stems), paving (hexagons, squares, triangles) and plant containers
(round, square, rectangular).
- Movement: Can be stimulating or relaxing, depending
on the source and setting. There are many ways of combining movement
with sound. Consider; trees (aspen, willow, white poplar), grasses,
mobiles, chimes, animals, water, moving sculptures. Locate some within
reach so that people can activate them. Place wind-activated items in
places likely to receive some breeze!
- Contrast: Particularly valuable for people with visual
impairments who have some residual sight. Consider; hard surfaces and
markings, kerbs and edgings, flowers, foliage, sculptures.
- Patterns: These can provide fascinating effects and
can inspire art work. Regular patterns are provided by; brick work,
paving, cobbles, fencing, dandelion clocks and pine cones and more random
patterns by; bark (plane, birch, eucalyptus), variegated leaves, skeleton
leaves.
Listening, hearing
Organisers of nature studies often find listening activities to be a
good way of calming people and tuning them in to their environment. Children
often need to be encouraged to listen to sounds, especially to more subtle
ones. Consider both sounds that occur naturally and those that can be
activated by people. Natural sounds include; leaves rustling in the wind,
birds singing, water tricking/dripping/splashing, rain on an overhead
cover. Activated sounds include; splashing water, striking chimes and
sound sculptures. Deaf people will be able to sense vibrations and percussive
sounds and these can be provided through sculpture and features such as
deer-scarers (chinese tapping water features). "Sound fences",
activated by dragging a stick along a series of lengths of tubing or piping
are melodious and fun.
Feeling, touching
The outdoors is full of different textures and people with visual impairments
in particular rely on these to interpret the environment. Options include;
rough surfaces (lichens, stone wall, bark); smooth (pebble, polished wood,
leaves, flower petals); ridged (textured concrete, backs of leaves); hairy
(animals, leaves such as Stachys, buds, grass); bumpy (cobbles, twigs).
Also think of objects that illustrate shapes (circular flowers, cubic
containers, oval fruits, triangular ivy leaves etc); weight (light bark,
heavy clay etc.); temperature (sun-warmed water, cold shaded water; stone
next to soil); wet and dry (moist and dry soil/sand, freshly shed leaves
and older dry ones); contrasting densities (hard stone and soft moss).
Smelling
Although most attention has been given to scented plants there are many
other materials that have distinctive and interesting smells. With plants,
consider different types of scent: scents that fill the air and can be
smelt without touching the plant (Mock orange (Philadelphus), some roses,
winter honeysuckle, curry plant, cut grass, hay); Intimate scents where
the flowers need to be investigated (violet, primrose, some Narcissus);
Activated scents which are released when plant parts are crushed (most
culinary herbs, scented geranium).
Another option is for people to try to identify the scents from different
distinctive herbs, such as peppermint and apple mint, lemon thyme and
curry plant. There can be interesting differences between people's abilities
to detect the more subtle scents, such as violets and primroses, and in
schools it can be a fun exercise to get children to run a survey of their
class. Some plant scents can be a problem for people with asthma, particularly
the more powerful scents and those coupled with flowering and therefore
pollen release.
Other options include a whole range of familiar smells (pond water, wood
shavings, autumn leaves, cut grass). The effects of water on smells can
be interesting (wet soil, stone, leaves).
Tasting
Taste can be a useful way of demonstrating where food comes from and
showing the link between growing and eating. However, particularly with
children, it is important to ensure that they remain cautious about unidentified
plants and it is probably necessary to restrict the choice to those food
plants that are clearly recognised, such as apples.
Orientation, gravity and balance
Aspects of path design, such as width, change in direction, branching,
slopes and ability to see a destination or end point all influence speed
of travel and sense of mystery and invitation. Therefore paths in sensory
gardens and trails can be seen to have much more potential than simply
providing direct access. Orientation skills may also be developed by providing
things for people to stand on or climb up (logs, trees, platforms, bridges,
stages) that test or develop balance and which act as markers in the landscape.
In education programmes, the objective may be to introduce such basic
concepts as up, down, high and low (this may be done by incorporating
objects that can be repositioned such as hanging baskets and mobiles).
Cause and effect
A range of practical landscape features can be used to get people involved.
For example, interactive sculptures on which people can pull levers, press
switches or activate touch-sensitive pads to produce different effects.
Other possibilities include gear wheels, pulleys, balances and water which
moves through a series of pools or channels. Such features can also be
valuable in education programmes for demonstrating cause and effect.
Moods
Some spaces are designed to be quiet and relaxing. Here the emphasis
is on using a combination of sensory qualities to create a comfortable
and calming environment. Some schools and residential units have reported
that such environments are useful for counselling. There is also potential
for exploring other types of space, for example through the use of shade
and light, enclosure and sounds to explore other moods.
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