Having optimal space matters to the visually impaired, in more ways than one.
There is, most obviously, physical space. At the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) in Toa Payoh, the corridors are straight and wide, with 90-degree angle corners. Its clutter-free floors lend an overall spartan appearance, seemingly inevitable in a place where function trumps form.
The area is relatively easy to navigate for visually impaired employees, like Jason Setok, supervisor at the association’s Braille Production & Library Services Centre.
The 46-year-old, who’s worked at SAVH for nine years, is familiar with the route from his office to the Braille Production Centre, a room roughly 30 steps away. He doesn’t need a cane for his trip down the hallway, finger-tapping on walls to alert colleagues who may be nearby as he takes us on a tour of his modest workspace.
All things considered, it seems a gentle learning curve compared with picking up braille when he lost his vision at 27 due to glaucoma. He took five months to master it.
