About the project
Al Karamah School is part of ADEK’s specialised schools in the UAE dedicated solely to children and young people who are on the autistic spectrum. The project involved a rapid redesign and refurbishment of a former boy’s school into a safe, secure and inspiring learning environment for up to 260 Emirati co-ed learners.
Young people with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) can become highly anxious especially when challenged by small changes within their day-to-day routines, or any stress from the challenges of learning, so it was vital to provide spaces where children could seek security and calm within safe environments. The design approach has been to establish a narrative across the site with clearly defined journeys created to respond to different users. The ‘journeys’ are articulated in a number of ways that allow flexibility in the way they could be appropriated by both staff and students.
Clear layouts and arrangements are important in establishing a clear way-finding strategy and facilitating easy navigation of the school building. The school has been carefully designed as a series of independent learning hubs, each with their own graphic and colour identities to instill a sense of place for each pupil. While the teaching hubs are arranged in year group clusters to suggest a clear progression through the school over their education career, the location of the mosque has driven the establishment of a ‘Cultural Hub’ in the heart of the building around which an arts space is clustered with a space for Islamic Studies – the adjoining exhibition space allows opportunity for the exhibition and celebration of Islamic heritage and traditions, supported by a library resource space. These learning hubs are centred around a large multi-sensory activity space, or oasis, that offers a variety of settings for each pupil’s learning and activity needs. With a large therapy suite including multi-sensory rooms, a gym, SALT, OT and physical therapy studios.
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