Cave of Hugs is an indoor installation proposal for the Utah School for the Deaf and the Blind.

We designed a cave of hugs, clad in neoprene over a layer of sofa batting. This texture is a welcoming source of warmth for people who can neither see nor hear. In addition to the tactility of this project, we also worked to consider human’s relationship with the observable wavelengths of the universe. The colors on the spectrum are points along a wavelength, just the way that sound in itself is a collection of wavelengths. For the humans living with no sound, we introduced warm colors. For the humans living with no vision, we introduced closed environments that allow sound to be dampened.

Can architecture assist humans who live without sound, without vision, or without sound and vision? This project serves to dampen sound, warm the room, brighten its environment with colors, and hug back with soft textures. Empathy is something architecture can give back.