Interior design
Designing a space to suit people with sight loss
Designing with sight loss in mind does not necessarily involve spending huge amounts of money; it’s about applying the principles of colour contrast, lighting rooms properly and giving consideration to acoustics, says Jacqui Smith, co-director, HomeSmiths
In the same way that physical ability slows as people get older, vision deteriorates with age. From about the age of 40, most people will notice a decline in the ability to focus and the need for more light to see as they carry out normal everyday tasks. A Medical Research Council study estimated that one in eight people aged 75 and over will experience severe sight loss, rising to one in three of those aged over 90.1,2 With an ageing population, the prevalence of sight loss will only increase. Degrees of sight loss vary and few people are completely blind in both eyes. Good design will help maximise what functional vision these people have and flexible design will ensure that their surroundings can be adjusted to suit a particular condition.
As a designer working in healthcare, I had always been aware of the critical role the built environment has in supporting people experiencing sensory and cognitive decline. In November 2012, the importance of this was truly hammered home to me when I permanently lost the vision in my left eye through acute closed angle glaucoma. There was nothing gradual about my sight loss; one day I could see perfectly well; the next day I could not. Determined to combine my disability with my profession, I sought out not only more opportunities to work in healthcare design, but ways in which I could use my personal experience of reduced visual acuity and share best practice in sight loss friendly design with others within the industry. Sight loss is more common than most people think. I certainly had no understanding of how many people it affects and how even a mild vision impairment can have an impact on a person’s confidence. Sight loss can take a variety of forms and will alter perception in different ways. Macular degeneration is common among the elderly and causes
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Colour contrast is key to enabling people with poor sight to make sense of their surroundings
Macular degeneration is common among the elderly and causes progressive loss of central vision
progressive loss of central vision. Straight lines can become distorted and blank or dark spots can occur in central vision. The condition affects reading, writing, watching television, cooking, sewing, tasks involving being able to see small objects and the ability to recognise faces. Cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye. More than 50 per cent of people over 65 years of age have some degree of cataract. The cloudy
and blurred vision symptomatic of this condition affects all aspects of daily living including general mobility, household tasks and recognising faces. Additionally, the associated dazzle and glare make night travel challenging.
Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve through increased pressure in the eyeball, which crushes the nerve and so affects vision. In most types of glaucoma it causes blank patches just off the centre of the visual field and as it deteriorates these blank patches merge leaving only a small channel of central ‘tunnel’ vision. This reduced field of vision significantly impacts mobility.
Visual effects
The main thing I noticed was a change in depth perception. Losing sight in one eye means that you no longer see in 3D;
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • January 2018
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