Blind Walk Vs View Walk

Blind Walk Vs View Walk

Blind Walk vs View Walk is a fundamental architectural design evaluation methodology that compares two distinct approaches to experiencing and assessing church spaces. In the Blind Walk approach, participants navigate through the religious space without prior visual exposure or knowledge of the layout, relying solely on their other senses and spatial intuition to form impressions and understanding of the architectural environment. This method emphasizes the experiential qualities of sound, touch, temperature variations, air movement, and spatial progression, allowing for a more visceral and unbiased assessment of the church's architectural impact. In contrast, the View Walk involves a conscious, visually-guided exploration where participants observe and analyze the space with full sight, enabling them to appreciate the intended visual hierarchy, symbolic elements, and aesthetic composition of the religious architecture. This comparative methodology, particularly valuable in church design evaluation, reveals how different sensory experiences contribute to the overall spiritual and architectural impact of sacred spaces. The technique has proven especially useful in understanding how architectural elements such as naves, transepts, ambulatories, and sanctuaries contribute to the phenomenological experience of worship spaces. The contrast between these two approaches helps designers and architects better understand how their spatial decisions affect both sighted and visually impaired users, contributing to more inclusive and experientially rich religious architecture. This evaluation method has gained recognition in architectural circles and design competitions, including the A' Design Award's religious buildings and faith-related spaces category, where the consideration of multi-sensory experience has become increasingly important in assessing the quality and effectiveness of church design.

architectural assessment, sensory navigation, spatial perception, religious architecture, experiential design

— Lucas Reed

CITATION : "Lucas Reed. 'Blind Walk Vs View Walk.' Design+Encyclopedia. https://design-encyclopedia.com/?E=474615 (Accessed on November 17, 2025)"