Artistic expressions of people with intellectual disability and its relationship with architectural cognitive strategies

Abstract

People with intellectual disabilities, older age and mild degree of disabilities, use artistic expressions as a vehicle of expression, communication and cultural adaptation. The significant changes produced towards conceptions more dynamics of intellectual disability, based in greater interactions of intellectual disability, have led to the promotion of artistic and sensorial activities, with positive results, in perception and communication. Workshops have been made, during five years, between students of architecture, students of other areas of knowledge (pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy and communication) and people with intellectual disability on cognitive, sensory and social aspects, where different artistic perceptions have been contrasted and assumed to express some difficulties in the use of built environments. The implementation of some assumed artistic perceptions in cognitive strategies of architectural generation is beneficial for the use of buildings destined to people with intelectual disability. There are provided and described two actual examples of buildings, in which they have been applied in the beginning of the project. Known artistic embodiments that, after more than ten years as users, have increased their understanding and recognition of space.