Hexayurt sketchup- Achala,Ananya,Kamini, Megha and Meghna

MY SPACE, YOUR SPACE, OUR SPACE:

One of our assignments involved designing the inside of a Hexayurt for an autistic child. A Hexayurt is a six dimensional space used as shelter for post disaster crisis. It’s easy to build and is cost effective.
When it comes to an autistic kid, the first thing that should probably be of importance when it comes to building their own space is, Independence. To concentrate more on how the space can make the child more independent despite of having a parent or a care giver staying with him/her.
The primary thing we did when we designed the space was that we thought like an autistic child. How and why we would want our space to look like how it is. We focussed on more space (area), safety, responsibility, developing interests, sports, home based therapy and solitary activities.
When it came to space, we designed the house in such a way that the autistic child would feel less cramped or claustrophobic. The house has minimal furnishing, a pull out bed and huge windows. We also placed a detachable swing in the middle of the house for the child. As safety is one of the important factors to be considered, the entire furnishing is damage proof, i.e. It won’t harm the child. An inflatable swimming pool which can be adjusted according to the child’s needs and safe fencing around the compound is also present.
Responsibility is something which has to be introduced into an autistic child’s life. Hence we have a dog and many plants in the compound and house, so that the child can look after them. For sports and developing interests we have a basketball hoop, a cycle, a telescope, an easel and a big garden.
The child’s health is also another very important factor. The bouncing ball inside the house is scientifically proved to help keep the back from any ailments. The sports activities will also introduce routine and better health in the child’s life.
One Hexayurt with these many facilities is probably too expensive for just one child alone. So in the given compound space we will have at least 4 hexayurts, so that the children can share the facilities such as the telescope, the pool and the basketball hoop within the compound.
To achieve communication in an autistic kid’s life, one of the things which are important is family. One of the factors which can probably be considered in this case is for the child to live in a joint family. For this, the hexayurt’s can probably be levelled or they can be spread out within the compound, depending on space availability.