A Sensory-Rich Experience
A sensory-rich design supports identity, connection, and learning for students at a national center for deaf education.
The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
Washington, D.C.
The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University is a national model for advancing educational excellence within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Central to its success is recognizing that deaf culture thrives in environments that support visual language, spatial orientation, and shared experience.
To reflect these values and support students at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), the center sought to create more than just a residence hall. Through design, they envisioned a space that nurtures community, enhances communication, and expresses cultural identity.
The new three-story, 80,000-square-foot residence hall fulfills that vision by becoming an anchor for the MSSD campus and the centerpiece of a new campus courtyard. Framed by the building’s porous edges, the courtyard fosters visual openness and connection to surrounding public spaces. Gentle steps offer places for informal gathering and outdoor instruction, while a rain garden makes the site’s stormwater cycle visible and educational.
The building follows the site’s natural topography to reduce its apparent height and maintain accessible, seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces. A concrete structure clad in brick relates to the existing campus context while offering durability and warmth.
The result is a living-learning environment designed for the way deaf students experience the world—one that reinforces shared language, community, and a sense of place at the heart of the MSSD campus.
