The Deaf community in South Africa is fighting for educational rights and have made some progress. However, Deaf/ Hard of Hearing (DHH) learners are not being placed in schools due to lack of specialised schools/integrated schools and mainstream schools lacking staff, understanding and sensitivity to architectural design for the DHH. The concept of Deaf-Space presents a culturally responsive design approach catering to DHH needs and experiences of space. This study explores how the nature of „Deaf-Space? and „Deafness? influences a school’s architecture for the Deaf, aiming to engage the positive roles the built environment may play towards Deaf learners educational, social and emotional development. Thereafter, to discern and establish specific architectural design principles that may be applied to resolve architectural design for Schools for the DHH, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Authors: Michael John Rout, Magdalena C. Cloete

Published in: London International Conference on Education (LICE-2021)

• Date of Conference: 22-24 November 2021
• DOI: 10.20533/LICE.2021.0016
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-42-6
• Conference Location: Virtual (London, UK)