Inclusive and imaginative space

Furniture designed to celebrate the Sense Community

CLIENT: Sense

CATEGORY: Charity

PROJECT TYPE: Inclusive design, manufacture and installation

LOCATION: Loughborough, UK

MATERIALS: Birch plywood, Formica and mixed materials

PHOTOGRAPHER: Crumb

APPROACH:

We continued our partnership with Sense to extend our shared vision of creating spaces that are accessible for all. Sense Hub, located at Sense College in Loughborough, aims to provide an extension of their services across the country.

A collaborative process of knowledge exchange and dialogue with the Sense team is central to the success of this project. We worked together to transform three spaces into distinct environments, to house different services including Employment, Early Intervention and Arts, Sports and Wellbeing

This required multiple approaches in terms of their use and functionality, alongside a cohesive visual identity which connects across this hub to our previous work for Sense, located at TouchBase Pears, Birmingham. We worked with each team to determine their priorities, which resulted in a playful children’s area, a professional workspace and a creative arts studio.

Throughout the spaces, there are surprise elements that help to create sensory experiences and enhance different activities. These include hidden play spaces and mobile activity pods. Such as the music pod, which includes a pair of vibrating floors, and the active pod, which features a specially designed PolyBat table, a game akin to table tennis adapted for wheelchair users.

Sense is a national charity that supports people who have complex disabilities or are deafblind to communicate, connect and take part in life.