Restorative Spaces

Overview

A graduate elective at NYU Tandon IDM examining XR as an environment-design medium—not for entertainment, but for regulation, recovery, and inclusive access. Students study and build spaces that let people slow down, come back to themselves, and re-enter the room ready.

Context

The XR conversation is dominated by immersion for its own sake—louder, faster, more sensory. Restorative Spaces flips the frame: what does XR look like when the goal is presence, not stimulation? The course sits at the intersection of XR, wellness, and inclusive design, drawing on trauma-informed design, sensory ergonomics, and neurodivergent-first frameworks.

Approach

1. 01

   Built the syllabus around three modes: regulate (bringing the nervous system down), rest (creating conditions for genuine pause), and re-enter (transitioning back into shared space with intention).

2. 02

   Ran weekly design critiques on students' evolving spatial prototypes, from wireframes through Unreal Engine builds.

3. 03

   Grounded the curriculum in accessibility and neurodivergent-first design—not as a compliance layer but as the generative constraint.

4. 04

   Structured assignments so students shipped one functional, sensory-inclusive spatial prototype per semester.

Outcomes

• — Student prototypes exploring restorative XR environments across health, workplace, and personal-space contexts.
• — A curriculum framework applicable to future courses on trauma-informed and inclusive XR design.