Architetture tattili di terra per i ciechi: dalla comunicazione alla realizzazione

The aim of this proposal is to search for new ways of ‘tactile’ representation of earthen cultural heritage in order to extend it to a wider public that may include blind people. It is intended to offer new scenarios and fields of experimentation for ‘multi-sensory’ representation and design, for the communication of the architectural complexity of an artefact, consequently sharing key objectives of the ICAR 17 subject area. Moving from traditional representations for the blind to more recent experimentation with new technologies, the contribution investigates the potential of using ‘tactile’ materials to communicate the values of the earthen heritage. The aim of the proposal is the representation of earthen objects, which are not easily accessible and usable, and its ‘translation’ through ‘tactile’, natural and handcrafted materials, interpreting the ‘signs’ of places, transforming them into a language in relief for the blind through the scientific fundamentals of drawing. Tactile perception is a fundamental tool of knowledge for the blind person as tactility takes on an essentially gnosic function. It must become an active, systematic and intentional tactile exploration. A tactile, haptic perception provides information on the shape, size, location of real objects, their weight, the consistency and texture of their constituent materials, guaranteeing the blind person accessibility to sensory data that are indispensable for creating coherent mental images of reality itself and its representation. The material earth is perfect for moulding, it is an evocative, warm and porous material and thus offers the possibility of narrating a ‘fragile’ heritage that is intimately linked to man. It will be appropriate in this context to use this material for tactile representation, for a ‘sensitive’ fruition of an earthen architecture, of its constructive and decorative details, guaranteeing its enhancement through a creative process between rationality and emotion by the blind users involved.