Co-Design Between 21st Century Designers and People with Visual Impairment: The Building Plan of The New Passofundense Blind Association’s Headquarter

This paper relates the co-design process of a building design with visually impaired people. Using participatory methods, members of an association for visually impaired people could participate actively in the conception design of the future Association headquarters. Through digital fabrication, floor plan representations accessible to blind people were made to establish a common language between visually impaired people and designers. The research, which aims to promote innovation in assistive technologies through digital fabrication, highlights the maturation of the tactile model as a communication tool in the building design process and demonstrates the creation of an inclusive approach in architecture processes and products.