This project of being human started out as an exploration of what it means to be disabled or incompatible with a space. leading on from that, I started to research the kind of invisible disabilities which can make ordinary places overwhelming; such as autism. Historically, society has been extremely bad at catering to this subset of the neurodiverse population and architects have rarely stopped to think that the direct sunlight that lights up a bright feature wall could be far too overstimulating for a person with autism. Researching more into methods of spatial organisation and the needs of this client group gave me some ideas on what direction I could head in. My fundamental principle was to create an outside space that could be easily controlled: creating a bubble in an outdoor environment. This was to be achieved using elements of the sensory soundscape of a forest and incorporate them into the small folly.
The space I came up with invites the user to enjoy the outside view of a forest without the fear of being overstimulated by external factors. A trickling stream runs through the centre of the open space, which is dotted with mock trees. There are also escape nooks embedded within the thick wall at the back to relax and recharge in where you can take in the surroundings as the folly transitions seamlessly into the landscape.