Catálogo de Investigaciones 2015-2016

CATÁLOGO DE INVESTIGACIONES | AÑO ACADÉMICO 2015-2016 141 Occupational and independent living for Down Syndrome adolescence: journey to self-fulfillment using the context as a factor of inclusion This project is the result of a six months research about Down Syndrome patients and the actual resources for them in Puerto Rico. After analyzing the recollected data, the lack of resources was significant. The proposal is intended to provide a better quality of life for the Down Syndrome teenagers and their families. The project is described as an Occupational Center for Adolescents with Down Syndrome focused on integration into society and workplace. Starting from the premise that these individuals need inclusion for their emotional and intellectual development, the structure creates open spaces and visual connections between the project and the context. The project implements trade and leisure areas of public use, promoting the economy through incentives generated in the same center where there will be employed only the Down Syndrome adolescents for their personal autonomy progress. It consists of a central space starting as distribution hierarchy to the different areas of the building, generating a programmatic organization with different materials for the cognitive benefit of the user. Its location is due to the amount of users in the area and the government agencies near the site. lyann rosas ponce bachillerato en arquitectura mentor: dra. luz m. rodríguez, arq. luis ayala y arq. humberto betancourt down syndrome occupational syndrome self-fulfillment context inclusion