Architecture · Inclusive Design · Sweden · 2018
Tallidskolan — School for Special Needs
Designing for children with disabilities means starting with what they need to feel safe — not what's easiest to build.
01 — The Brief
A school that needed to become something different
Storvretsskolan was an existing school building. Tallidskolan was a special education unit that needed a new home. The brief was an adaptive redesign — transforming an existing building to genuinely serve children with a wide range of disabilities, without making it feel institutional or separate from the rest of the school community.
This project sits at the intersection of architecture and what I now think of as experience design: the challenge of creating an environment where a specific, often underserved group of users can function, learn, and feel like they belong.
02 — My Contribution
Planning, materials, and assistive equipment specification
My work covered the full scope of architectural planning for the adaptation: spatial reorganisation to support the movement and safety needs of the users, material and colour selection designed to reduce sensory overload while maintaining a warm and welcoming environment, and specification of assistive equipment integrated into the architecture rather than bolted on as an afterthought.
Sensory design — how light, colour, texture, and acoustics affect the experience of a space — became central to every decision. For neurotypical users, these are details. For the children who would use this building, they determined whether the space felt safe or overwhelming.
03 — What This Means for Design
Designing for the edges reveals what everyone needs
This project was one of the clearest demonstrations I've had that designing for the most constrained user makes the design better for everyone. A space with good acoustic dampening, clear wayfinding, and calm sensory input is better for every person who uses it — not just those with disabilities.
It's a principle I applied directly to WCAG accessibility work in digital UX: the features you add for screen reader users, or for people with motor impairments, improve the experience for everyone. Inclusive design isn't a constraint. It's good design.
Designing for the most constrained user doesn't limit what you can make. It clarifies what you should.