Design and development of horticultural Snoezelen Room

Snoezelen apparatuses are used all over the world as a multi-sensory tool for therapy. A typical snoezelen is a space that helps to 'reduce agitation and anxiety' in an engaging manner to 'stimulate reactions and encourage communication'. This paper concerns the design and development of a horticultural Snoezelen Room for Hutton House, a community organisation in London, Ontario that was performed by a group of Mechanical and Materials Engineering students at Western University for their 4th year capstone design project. The Hutton House is a charity that helps and supports persons with disabilities. The Snoezelen Room would be an additional service and calming environment for them to provide to the community. The team built an approximate 1.8 metres × 1.8 metres (6 ft. × 6 ft.) Snoezelen Room consisting of three walls of horizontal piping and UV lights to create a multi-sensory room for the user, that was able to be transported throughout London for use.