ACE Kids Spectrum of Genius

A sensory school garden that provides a calm space for children with additional emotional needs to learn to read.

The garden will be a place of light and shade because children with autism and emotional needs are sensitive to bright light and need protection from peak daylight. Key features of the design include pergolas with suspended reading pods, and a timber reading room with light mood walls. Quotes from Yeats and Einstein appear on the walls within the reading spaces and offer inspiration.

The garden’s colours are based on the Mondrian painting Composition in Red, Yellow and Black: Mondrian was reported to have autism. The Cornish granite paving is pale grey with black edging to represent the painting’s black and white dimensions.

All the plants used in the garden are edible, with the exception of the grasses, which are included to provide soft textures.