Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — Braille Institute Santa Barbara recently opened its doors to over 150 members and friends the American Institute of Architects (AIA) – Santa Barbara, who toured the building and program demonstrations as part of their 8th annual ArchitecTours event.
“We were so pleased with major attendance throughout the open house and for the opportunity to welcome visitors to Braille Institute Santa Barbara,” said Michael Lazarovits, Executive Director of Braille Institute Santa Barbara. “We extend a heartfelt thanks to the AIA for recognizing the importance of architecture and for educating their membership about the lives of people with blindness or low vision.”
Visitors were guided through the property, whose design emphasizes function and safe accessibility for the visually impaired and blind students that navigate the facility. Design elements include a center fountain in an enclosed courtyard to help students orient themselves, and classrooms include a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen, technology training stations, library, ceramics studio, and crafts room.
Members of the community are welcome to tour the facility year round. To book a tour, visit www.brailleinstitute.org/santabarbara, or call 1-800-BRAILLE (272-4553).
About Braille Institute: Braille Institute is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate barriers to a fulfilling life caused by blindness and severe sight loss. It serves tens of thousands of people of all ages each year through a broad range of educational, social and recreational programs and services designed to help people of all ages with vision loss lead enriched and fulfilling lives. Funded entirely by private donations, all services are completely free-of-charge. Braille Institute Santa Barbara is online at www.brailleinstitute.org/santabarbara, on Facebook (BrailleInstitute) and Twitter (@BrailleInst).