Empathic Design: Destigmatizing Mental Illness to Promote Better Mental Health and Well Being

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Empathic Design: Destigmatizing Mental Illness to Promote Better Mental Health and Well Being

Submitted to the Department of Architecture in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, April 2019

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title: Empathic Design: Destigmatizing Mental Illness to Promote Better Mental Health and Well Being

creator: Monica Victoria Maganzini

subject: Architecture, Human factors; Mentally ill, Care; Mental health facilities, Designs and plans

description: The evolution of mental health facilities has ceasedsince the discovery of pharmaceuticals. However, theevolution of mental illness has not ceased. Though lesspeople are institutionalized in recent decades than thepast century, there is still a need for mentally ill peopleto find secure and healing spaces to receive treatment.Unfortunately, with today's mental institutions and thelike, there is a negative stigma regarding finding refugein an institution as such. The stigma reflects beliefs andprejudices based on times where education aboutmentally ill people was not as advanced as it is today.The architecture of these facilities is not helping thestigma. The buildings' materiality is lacking. The facilitieshave not grown with the discovery of new illnesses andtreatment styles.If architects could design with the intention for thementally ill patients to seek refuge in a space, thenthese new institutions would appeal to more mentallyill people. Simultaneously, if architects include theprogrammatic elements required for the non-traditionalforms of healing, then this would provide more stimulation for the mentally ill patients, and therefore, a fasterhealing process.The aim of this thesis is to create a new typologysynthesizing artists residences and rehabilitationcenters, giving the patients individualized spaces toexpress themselves creatively. The creative outlets thatthe mentally ill patients would be using is an additionalway to heal themselves. With the ability to collaboratewith others in a communal setting, the chance forteambuilding and creating a sense of community wouldculminate naturally in these spaces, developing aninnate camaraderie.

publisher: The Douglas D. Schumann Library and Learning Commons, Wentworth Institute of Technology

contributor:

date: 2019

type: Thesis

format: .pdf

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language: eng

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rights: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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