Hsin-Yi, CHAO
National Chung Hsing University, Program of Digital Humanities and Creative Industries & Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science
TAIWAN, Taichung City,
Dr. Hsin-Yi Chao is an assistant professor of Cultural and Creative Industry Program at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. She finished Master of Fine Arts in National Taipei University of Education and Architecture Ph.D. in National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Chao continued postdoctoral research in the psychology graduate school of University of Toronto in Canada and found the national nonprofit organization, Taiwan Art Beyond Vision Association in 2014. Then, she changed her position from the 10-year visual art teacher at primary school into a curator who worked on accessible technology and exhibitions with multisensory at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts for 6 years. Chao focuses her studies on nonvisual art educational theory and practice, accessible technology application, universal display design, art audio description, and tactile spatial cognition research with special education, psychology, museum, and art to promote the equal right of art education for the visual impaired.
Non-Visual Perception of Museum Buildings: A Case Study on the Strategy of the Spatial Conceptualization in the Architecture of the National Center for the Performing Arts for the Visually Impaired
This study examines methods for visually impaired audiences to understand the indoor and outdoor spatial concepts of performance architecture, using three performance art venues with different design philosophies and styles: the National Theatre & Concert Hall of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, the National Taichung Theater, and National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts-Wei Wu Ying in Kaohsiung. It aims to summarize suitable strategies for constructing non-visual spatial cognition navigation as a reference for museums.
The research methodology involved non-participatory field observations of architectural spaces, verbal image-guided tours, tactile models, and analysis of three-dimensional aids. Interviews with accessibility officers were conducted. Additionally, ten visually impaired audience members from one of the venues were invited to draw floor plans, elevations, and create three-dimensional models to analyze their understanding of architectural space.
From the combined data of the three venues, the study found:
- For architectural models, it is best to make them tactile within reach of both hands, displaying the complete architectural volume and detailed exterior structure. For indoor performance spaces, models explaining the seating and stage positions should be available for understanding spatial relationships.
- Overall floor plans are necessary tactile aids, suggesting the addition of navigation route explanations for better understanding of spatial layout. Although elevations and sections are more difficult concepts, they can still enhance understanding of architectural facades and spatial scale.
- The quality of audio description guided tours affects the understanding of visually impaired audiences. Guides should provide accompanying tactile aids to avoid differences in information received by visually impaired audiences.
Therefore, auditory and tactile information can construct conceptual understanding of museum architectural spaces. The universality of aid design, completeness of spatial information, and quality of guidance all influence visually impaired audiences' comprehension of museum architecture.
Museum Architecture, Visually Impaired Audience, Audio Description, Tactile Aids, Spatial Cognition