Civil Engineering and Architecture 9(5): 1627-1639, 2021 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090532 Co-design: Tactile Models and Prototype as Common Language Tools between Designers and Visually Impaired People Andréa Quadrado Mussi * , Luísa Batista de Oliveira Silva, Luísa Fernanda Nercolino Deon, Thaísa Leal da Silva, Lauro André Ribeiro Postgraduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism, IMED Faculty, Passo Fundo, 990101030, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Received March 2, 2021; Revised July 20, 2021; Accepted August 22, 2021 Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles (a): [1] Andréa Quadrado Mussi, Luísa Batista de Oliveira Silva, Luísa Fernanda Nercolino Deon, Thaísa Leal da Silva, Lauro André Ribeiro , "Co-design: Tactile Models and Prototype as Common Language Tools between Designers and Visually Impaired People," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 1627-1639, 2021. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090532. (b): Andréa Quadrado Mussi, Luísa Batista de Oliveira Silva, Luísa Fernanda Nercolino Deon, Thaísa Leal da Silva, Lauro André Ribeiro (2021). Co-design: Tactile Models and Prototype as Common Language Tools between Designers and Visually Impaired People. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 9(5), 1627-1639. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090532. Copyright©2021 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract This article presents the use of tactile models and prototype as common language tools among designers, blind and visually impaired (B&VI), inserted in a collaborative design methodology. With the objective of realizing an interior architecture project and an outdoor area, including toys, for an association for visually impaired people in the city of Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil. It describes the process of participation and interaction between Association members, both adults and children, and architects in the development of these projects. It shows results of two co-design actions, which will subsidize a broader objective of a research that aims to define co-design methods, techniques and tools applied to the inclusion of Visually Impaired People in the process of architecture, urbanism, landscaping and interior design. The research related two co-design. The first is the co-design of the waiting / reception room and the external area for socializing and leisure, carried out with the adults of the association, took place in three moments: in the focus group, in the interaction with the tactile model and on the tours accompanied. The second co-design was carried out with the children of the association to develop two toys, the first to be inserted within the proposal of improving reception/ waiting, and the second for placement in the outdoor area of socializing and leisure. The interaction among designers, blind and visually impaired was intensive, allowing modifications and diverse insights about types of floors, layout and better and adequate colors for the best comfort and mobility inside the spaces. It seeks to demonstrate the importance of co-design as a way of including B&VI, as they are able to increase well-being and self-esteem, while effectively participating in the creation of the environment in which they are inserted; they manage to leave the passive zone that they normally find themselves in with regard to the architectural design process. The next steps of the research are to finalize the toy design of the external area and the execution of all spaces. Keywords Collaborative Project, Blind and Visually Impaired People, Design Process, Digital Fabrication 1. Introduction In the year of 2011, World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the World Bank, produced the World Disability Report published under the original title "World Report on Disability", in which it was found that every 5 seconds a person becomes blind in the world and that, of the total blindness cases, 90% occur in underdeveloped