°ëµºÌåÓý

(SEATTLE, April 4, 2025) â€� The global integrated design firm °ëµºÌåÓý will exhibit “Tactile,â€�  sharing a sensory-informed, research-based approach to designing more neuro-inclusive spaces, as part of the “â€� 2025 exhibition. The biennial architecture exhibition is hosted in parallel with the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, from May 10 to November 23, 2025, in Venice, Italy.

This year, “Time Space Existenceâ€� invites practitioners to consider the urgency to “Repair, Regenerate, and Reuseâ€� and to develop solutions that are led by environmental consciousness. Through “Tactile,â€� °ëµºÌåÓý Interior Designer Sammy Rupp, IIDA, and visual/sound artist underscore the need for design solutions that recognize and support the unique spatial needs and experiences of neurodivergent individuals. The installation expands the conversation around regeneration and repair to consider design that encourages personal restoration and respite, supporting healthier individuals, spaces, and communities.

“Tactileâ€� draws on prior research, fiber art, and furniture prototype studies that Rupp conducted through a personal development grant from °ëµºÌåÓý. She leveraged the unique employee benefit to interview designers, neurodivergent individuals, and occupational therapists who specifically work with the neurodivergent community. Her research explored how designers can use tactile, visual, and acoustic elements to enhance user comfort and foster positive sensory stimulation for neurodivergent individuals.

The exhibit will showcase new expressions of Rupp’s research findings and fiber art at Palazzo Bembo, a 15-century venue facing the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. The space will be divided into an active zone with sculpted, hanging fiber elements for interacting and playing to assist with cognitive engagement, and a quiet zone for calming and avoiding sensory overload. In the quiet zone, a collection of stuffed fabric elements creates a cocoon-like environment to dampen sound and provide a plush area for repose.

Designed and built in collaboration with °ëµºÌåÓý Principal and Global Design Leader Tim Ganey, AIA, LEED AP, the structure incorporates a variety of textures to provide sensory feedback to users through self-soothing touch. A sonic element, created in collaboration with Machado, treats sound as another tactile experience. A mounted instrument activated by motorized bows creates soothing low frequency mechanical vibrations that travel through the structure to be felt and heard by the entire body.

The installation will create a moment of pause and respite for “Time Space Existence� attendees and spark dialogue among designers and architects. The goal is to invite professionals to consider how neuro-inclusive design enables a broader range of solutions to address the complexity of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Since 2012, “Time Space Existence� has been a major biennial architecture exhibition organized and hosted by the European Cultural Centre. Exploring the fundamental philosophical concepts of time, space, and existence, the exhibition brings together a diverse and international group of participants who play a crucial role in shaping the future of our built environment.