Eden: A Biophilic Architecture Typology for Mental Health
Open Access
- Author:
- Vickers, Danielle
- Area of Honors:
- Architecture
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Architecture
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Pep Aviles, Thesis Supervisor
Christine Lee Gorby, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Mental Health
Depression
Anxiety
Pavilion
Biophilic - Abstract:
- Although modern-day psychiatric care has a very questionable reputation, it is exceptionally better than it was back in the 1800s. The wards were overcrowded, disease infested, and dirty, and their methods of ‘treating’ the mentally ill often left them worse than they were before. However, as these asylums have evolved into the voluntary psychiatric wards we have today, they have become designed for the ‘profession’ rather than the ‘patients;’ that is to say metal surfaces, white walls, and bright white light may be good for doctors to better see what they are doing and keep things sanitary – an outcome of modernism – but it also creates an environment that might be detrimental to mental health – which is what they are intended to treat in the first place. Additionally, these facilities (like all forms of healthcare) are extremely expensive, making treatment only an option for the upper class. Nature offers psychological advantages as an accessible, effective alternative treatment for mental health. Studies have shown that nature has a multitude of benefits to our physical and mental health. While it cannot entirely cure a severe mental illness, it can help relieve some of the symptoms of conditions like depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. Therefore, my thesis advocates for a biophilic architecture that improves the health of people with mental illnesses. I am testing this thesis in Hazelwood Green by using a series of pavilions dedicated to treating mild symptoms of depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety to help people in the Greater Hazelwood area connect to the waterfront and while lessening the symptoms of these conditions.