ENGRAIN - TAFE ANNANDALE
Luke Ryan - 480429982
Tutor: Rose McEnery
Introduction
The original brief for the Architectural project was to design a mental health institute in the vicinity of the Johnston Creek Parklands (JCP) that will operate in a similar manner to ‘Headspace’ the National Youth Mental Health Foundation. A research thesis was developed concurrently with this project. The intent of the thesis research was to explore how creating or transforming a building might help to shape or support regeneration, health, wellbeing and healing.
Mental Health as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is “a state of mental wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community”1
In 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published a report titled ‘National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing’. The following statistics were sourced from this report to understand the prevalence of mental health issues in Australia. The statistics of interest are:
• “A high percentage of Australians (42.9%) have experienced a mental health issue at some point in their lives or are currently experiencing a mental health issue,
• 4.3 million Australians aged 16-85 years reported having a 12-month mental disorder during the 2020-2022 period,
• Of the 4.3 million people, 1.9 million (45.1%) of them stated that they saw a health professional for their mental health”2
From the 19�8 million Australians aged 16-85 years
People who had a 12-month mental disorder
Australians with a mental disorder who saw a health professional
16-85 year olds Sought Help 16-34 year olds
1: Mental Disorder Statistics in Australia
1. “Mental Health”, Facts on Mental Health, World Health Organisation, updated November 10, 2024, https://www.who.int/ news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response
2. “National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing”, Summary statistics on key mental health issues, Australian Bureau of Statistics, updated November 10, 2024, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mentalhealth-and-wellbeing/latest-release
FIGURE
Whilst awareness for mental health is growing, these figures clearly show there is still a need to provide necessary services for people who are experiencing mental disorders. Thus, the Architectural project ‘Engrain’ proposes an experimental approach to mental health institutes that is informed by the research presented in the thesis.
The project was titled ‘Engrain’ for 2 reasons, the first is for its definition to, “firmly fix or establish (a habit, belief, or attitude) in a person” and the second is to incorporate the word grain in the title, which further connects it to the concepts presented in the thesis. The chosen site is the TAFE Annandale institute, located at the intersection of Johnston street and the Crescent, north-west of the JCP. ‘Engrain’ proposes a reverse brief of repurposing a portion of the TAFE site for a mental health institute. The target social profile will be 18-25 year olds and specialised services will be provided to cater for mental disorders that are common in this age group.
The thesis covers research into multidisciplinary fields that are relevant to Architecture, Urban Planning and Mental Health. From this research 3 concepts were formulated and applied to ‘Engrain’ to experiment on the following question:
“What can Architecture do to appeal to occupants selfesteem, overcome stigma to engage in activities and promote passive mental recovery?”
FIGURE 2: Warehouse 2 Existing to Proposed Render
The key terminology utilised in this question are self-esteem and stigma. Self-esteem is how we value and perceive ourselves like a personal image of self whilst stigma is defined as a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something, especially when this is unfair. When stigma is thrust upon an individual this can hurt their self-esteem and lead to them shutting themselves out from everyday tasks in fear that their self-esteem will be further hurt. This is apparent with people dealing with mental disorders who feel alienated from a community because they stand out as different or are not like the others. Considering that people spend majority of their time inside buildings, this topic has relevance as a way of exploring and experimenting what Architecture can do to help people recover from stigma and low self-esteem as a result of their mental health.
The concepts proposed in the thesis are:
FORM FOLLOWS AVAILABILITY
Work with existing resources to increase cultural and historical value and promote environmental sustainability in Architecture.
EMERGENT CO-DESIGN
Engaging the stakeholders in the design process to improve self-esteem.
SENSORY MODULATION
Planning the sensory outputs of each space to be suitable for all occupants.
FIGURE 3:
Warehouse 1
Existing to Proposed Render
Form follows Availability
The concept of form follows availability is a derivative of form follows function. Rather than starting with a clean slate, you work with existing resources on site and give it a new purpose in a meaningful and sustainable way. This methodology is proven to significantly reduce the construction industries impact on climate change, which has been recognised as a cause of mental illness. By proposing a design that is conscious of climate change, respects the history/ heritage of the site it is on and is unique in its form, it is more likely to be accepted in the community and can appeal to self-esteem as a building that people are happy, even proud, to be affiliated with.
The key principles of this concept and their benefits are:
• Sourcing locally available materials
* Promote the local economy
* Reduce distance for transportation
* Reduce and reuse construction waste to offset carbon emissions
• Considering the lifetime of the building and specified materials
* Design buildings that can be dismantled and reused or
* Design buildings that can last at least 100 years to offset its carbon emissions
• Resilience against changing functions
* Design spaces to be adaptable to eliminate the need for further construction
* Or plan ahead so if extensions are required the amount of carbon emissions produced is limited
• Climatic conditions
* Ensure the design responds appropriately to the climate to reduce energy consumption
A building that demonstrates these principles is the Tramsheds in Harold Park (part of the JCP). As the name implies it was originally designed to store trams that connected to the nearby viaduct. When the trams were discontinued the shed was repurposed into a contemporary shopping centre as part of the JCP Master Plan in 2013. As shown in the images below, the existing structure and form was retained and the interior was divided up to provide spaces for businesses to operate in.
FIGURE 4:
The Tramsheds, Harold Park
Another built example that demonstrates the principles of Form follows Availability is the ‘Granby Winter Garden’, designed by Assemble and the Granby Street community. The former ‘Granby Winter Garden’ was a two-storey terrace home that fell into disarray and became uninhabitable for years. The decision was made to work with the remains of the dwelling and transform it into a space for neighbourhood activity. The design strategies that demonstrate Form follows Availability included:
• Retaining the raw masonry construction
• Not repairing the upper storey slab, that had collapsed during its time of neglect, in favour of a triple-height interior
• Working with structural engineers to preserve and brace the external fabric of the building, i.e. not replacing the windows or doors
New elements that were introduced to further activate the space for the neighbourhood were:
• Introducing an internal garden, managed by the community
• Providing furniture for people to sit and socialise both outside and inside the structure
• Redesiging the roof with skylights to let natural light into the building
The result of this intervention as phrased on the Architects website is “an unexpected indoor garden, and unique resource for creative community action, cultural production and exchange”3. But building on this further, this intervention has extended the lifetime of the resources already utilised in the building, reduced the need for new resources and has a form that reflects the history and culture of the neighbourhood that it is a part of.
Both these examples demonstrate that the concept of Form follows Availability is effective in retaining and even improving the historical value of a site. Additionally, utilising existing structure eliminates or reduces the need for demolition and sourcing new materials, significantly reducing carbon emissions. A downside that Architects may see when applying this concept, depending on the project brief, is they lose a lot of freedom when designing the form and may have trouble generating a plan that works without altering the existing structure. If done well, however, it will produce a design that has more cultural significance, which will be beneficial for the mental health of the occupants who will use that building.
FIGURE 5: Granby Winter Garden Project Photos (from left to right): Pre-Construction Condition, Completed Interior, Completed Exterior
Site Selection & Procurement
TAFE Annandale is sited in the vicinity of The Johnston Creek Parklands in Glebe, Annandale and Forest Lodge (the site proposed for the original brief).
Rather than look for a site with a clean slate, which the park has an abundance of making it an easy go to option, the challenge was to look for a site that had as many of the following criteria:
• Underutilised
• Can treat the park as an asset without obstructing its current functions
• Accessible both to itself and to any part of the parklands
• Provide a minimum floor space of 700m2 (max. 3 storeys)
• Minimal demolition and opportunities to practice Form follows Availability
• Has good visibility
The sites of interest that were identified are as follows (in no particular order):
1. Swadlings Timber and Hardware
2. TAFE Annandale
3. Vacant Land
4. Carpark of Tramsheds
5. Secluded Sewage Building
6. Rock Lane Residents
7. PCYC Glebe-Leichardt
TAFE Annandale was chosen for the following reasons:
• High visibility from the Crescent, Johnston street and Western Glebe Foreshore Park
• Site’s primary function is to run 7 day courses for rigging and scaffolding on a quarterly basis, which can be considered under utilised
• Total area of 6033m2 without protruding into the park
• Close proximity to the park to encourage all occupants to visit the park at some point during their visit
• Accessible by car, bus and light rail
• The Timber and Hardware store can be a source of materials for new construction and ties project to park history
• Existing infrastructure and resources available on-site
LEGEND
Sites of Interest
Bus Stop
Light Rail Station
Cliff
Light Rail Track & Viaduct (Heritage)
Ecologically sensitive areas
Playgrounds
Sports Fields
LinkRoad
After acquistion and evaluating the resources already available on-site, the decision was made to only occupy the south quadrant of the site where 2 warehouse are positioned and use their existing structures to house the program for ‘Engrain’.
Form
Form Generation Axonometrics (Left to Right): Existing Form & Resources, Proposed Reuse Strategy, Proposed Form
The warehouses are supported by a steel portal frame structure. Warehouse 1 has a lightweight corrugated steel cladding while Warehouse 2 is a combination of render and corrugated steel. To make Warehouse 1 more inviting and able to house more of the program, the cladding was removed from the existing structure and an additional set of portal frames were installed. This provided the opportunity to introduce a new material palette for Warehouse 1 and increase its floor space. For Warehouse 2, its mix of materials and original form justified the decision to leave it as it is and work with its constraints.
Materiality Axonometrics (Left to Right): Existing Warehouses, Proposed Warehouses
Whilst Warehouse 2 has retained all of its original characteristics, Warehouse 1 has taken on a new aesthetic but has stayed true to its original form because of the existing portal frame structures. The material palette for Warehouse 1 is a combination of the corrugated steel that was removed from the structure, upcycled bricks from demolition projects and sandstone sourced from Gosford Quarry.
FIGURE 6:
FIGURE 7:
Material Palette
EXISTING/REUSED MATERIAL PALETTE
Corrugated Steel
• Light weight cladding for the existing structures
• Can be removed and reused for new roofs
• Quantity is the surface area of Warehouse 1
Steel I-Beams
• Used for the portal frame structures inside both warehouses
• Retain all frames and use them to define the form of the proposed design
• Extend the footprint of Warehouse 1 by copying the portal frame structure
Grey Plaster
• A coarse finish for the lower walls of Warehouse 2
• Does not have any re-use so better to retain
Concrete
• The entire site is on exposed concrete
• To introduce some vegetation parts of the concrete will need to be excavated
• Excavation should be strategic so concrete can still be utilised for wayfinding and accessibility
NEW/ADDITIONAL MATERIAL PALETTE
Timber
• Timber can be sourced from the local timber and hardware store for construction
• Can be used for construction and for the Co-Design concept
Upcycled Bricks
• Rather than sourcing new materials there is an opportunity to use upcycled bricks for external materiality of Warehouse 1
• Benefits include reduction in carbon emissions and a unique aesthetic for the design
Glass & Aluminium
Framing
• Required to increase natural lighting and transparency within both warehouses
Sandstone
• Chosen to experiment it sensory qualities
• Low carbon emissions during production and transportation
Emergent Co-Design
Co-design is defined as, “practices of collaborative engagement that enable those connected to a particular context to contribute to, and become part of, a design process by sharing their experiential knowledge”4. Emergent Co-design refers to a more flexible and adaptive form of co-design that changes with a given context. In Architecture, there are limited opportunities to apply emergent co-design as a result of legislations and building codes. But if able to be done there is an opportunity to empower the occupants, giving them a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to give back to the community.
The ‘Headspace’ centre in Camperdown demonstrates this concept of co-design by enabling staff to design the atmosphere and look of the reception, waiting areas and interview spaces to make it more appealing to its visitors. Decisions such as furniture choice and layout, displaying works produced by patients and stocking shelves with toys makes these spaces feel more person-centric and comforting for patients who visit the centre.
In a general context, the benefits of adopting this concept are:
• Closes knowledge gaps between the Architect and the ‘stakeholders’
• Empowers occupants
• Provides possibilities for change in the future
• Promotes personalisation
What Emergent Co-Design has proven is that, even though ‘stakeholders’ have no Architectural qualifications, their experiential knowledge is valuable to ensure the final design is relevant and meaningful for the people who are going to be using it on a regular basis. This is important with mental health. By giving occupants an opportunity to design the space they are going to use it is good for their self-esteem, makes them want to come back and creates opportunities for education.
FIGURE 8: Headspace Camperdown, Waiting Room
FIGURE 9: Headspace Camperdown, Interview Room
4. Leigh-Anne Hepburn, Chris Smith, Donald McNeill and Jason Dibbs, Spaces of Co-Design in Mental Health, Neurology and Neuroscience (Routledge, 2024), 50
Wood Workshop
With ‘Engrain’, Co-Design is both demonstrated and enabled by the introduction of a wood workshop in the program. It is the intent of the workshop that patients are prescribed time here to learn basic DIY skills to produce works that can be taken home or given back to the institute to be utilised or admired by future patients. The expected result is that the occupants feel empowered with a sense of accomplishment and feel more connected with the building since they had a part in designing it.
Furthermore, the timber for the workshop can be sourced by the Swadlings Timber and Hardware store along The Crescent. This further connects the project to the history of the park and site and promotes acquiring locally sourced materials.
The drawings on the following page are part of a catalogue of items that act as a representation of what items could be produced in the workshop. They are grouped based on what their intended function will be as part of the co-design concept.
FIGURE 10: Engrain Wood Workshop Render
Catalogue of Items
OUTDOOR PERGOLAS
Shades that can be utilised for outdoor consultation, make use of materials found on site or demonstrate an artistic expression
INTERVIEW ROOM FURNITURE
Can range from an assortment of items that enhance the experience of the space such as a coffee table or a bookshelf
WALL CLADDING
May be labour intensive but if done right can improve wayfinding by giving each consultation space a unique identity based on the cladding that is applied to it
LEGEND
Ground
Mezzanine
FIGURE
Sensory Modulation
The authors of ‘Sensory Modulation & Environment: Essential Elements of Occupation’ refer to the term sensory modulation as, “the capacity to regulate and organise the degree, intensity and nature of responses to sensory input in a graded and adaptive manner”5. Given anxiety has the highest percentage of mental disorders compared to affective and substance use disorders, understanding and controlling the sensory inputs that all the occupants receive when interacting with Architecture is important in promoting passive recovery.
Two quotes that calls for a need for Sensory Modulation in Architecture are:
• “Sensations significantly affect how people experience a place and how they use and move through space, including their experience of the conviviality of that place”6
• “We are less keen to socialise, play or engage in physical activity in places where we experience unpleasant noise, sight, smells, tastes, touch sensations and ambience, being associated with such places, such as living next to a sewage plant, also affects our selfesteem”7.
All these quotes depict a clear picture that a lack of planning in how Architecture and Urban Design affect the five senses result in unpredictable and/or undesireable sensory inputs for occupants, which will impact their mental health, self-esteem and impressions of a place. The thesis proposes three solutions to achieving sensory modulation in Architecture. These solutions are:
SENSORY ROOMS
Spaces designed for a specific therapeutic activity to accommodate varying conditions and needs.
ATTENTION RESTORATION THEORY (ART)
Proposed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, this theory proposes that recovery is achieved through involuntary attention, the opposite to direct attention which requires concentration and blocking out other senses. The most effective way to draw involuntary attention is through fascination in nature.
MATERIALITY AND THE FIVE SENSES
Specify materials that have qualities that stimulate one or more of the five senses. Aside from timber, there is no other research that explores the stimulating properties of materials, leaving this proposal more open to experimentation and speculation compared to the previous two.
‘Sensory Modulation’ relies on many theories and research conducted by different authors to demonstrate how it can be applied to Architecture to promote good mental health. There can still be gaps of speculation in this concept, especially if occupants respond differently to sensory inputs. But by linking this concept to a built forms explored in the thesis there is sufficient evidence to say that the concept can work in maintaining good impressions and promote mental recovery.
5. Champagne, Tina, Sensory Modulation & Environment: Essential Elements of Occupation (Pearson, 2008), 57
6. Roe, Jenny, and Layla McCay. Restorative Cities: Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing. (United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021), 67
7. Roe, Jenny, and Layla McCay, 67
Interview Rooms
Engrain provides 6 interview rooms across the whole program. Whilst it is encouraged to have each room be unique from one another, there are a few design elements that need to be consistent so each room achieves the sensory modulation theories discussed before.
COMMON DESIGN ELEMENTS:
• Have at least 1 window and a portion of that window be operable for natural ventilation
• A custom made bench from the wood workshop
• Over time replace furniture with products produced from the wood workshop
• Where an existing coloumn is in the room, treat it as an opportunity for creative co-design
• 1 Feature wall with a natural material. Options include timber, sandstone or clay plaster
• All rooms are accessible for different disabilities
• At least 1 desk and set of drawers for consultants
14: 1:20 Detail Model of Interview Room
FIGURE
FIGURE 13: Typical Interview Room Axo
FIGURE 12: Example Render of Interview Room
Secluded Garden
The secluded garden was created when 2 blocks were extruded from Warehouse 1 to create a semi-enclosed space that is only accessible by going through the warehouses. The garden has a low floor space area, which limits the number of people that can occupy the space at once, but that provides a moment of isolation from what is going on enabling an occupant to take time to reflect and admire the vegetation growing in this area.
FIGURE 15:
Secluded Garden Render
FIGURE 16:
Ground Plan Key - NTS
FIGURE 17:
Secluded Garden on Plan - NTS
Revitalised Hill + Outdoor Space
The tree shown in the render is an existing tree growing on a hill that used to be concrete but has now been remoulded with soil and grass. This, the abundance of outdoor space and pergolas spread out across the site encourage patients and doctors to do consultations outdoors.
FIGURE 18: Revitalised Hill Render
FIGURE 19: 1:200 Working Site Model
Other Moments of Sensory Modulation
NATURAL INTERVENTIONS
The rooms on the ground level of Warehouse 1 do not have any common walls. This decision was made to help each room work with the existing structure and create space for windows to be installed between the gaps. Within these gaps are moments where the vegetation growing in planter beds cast shadows because of the natural light provided by the window.
WOOD WORKSHOP
The wood workshop stands out as a distinct sensory room compared to the other spaces.
INDOOR WAITING AREA
The render portrays a clear image of what patients see when they arrive in Warehouse 1. A huge open space with an abundance of natural light and unique timber cladded walls produced by the patients.
Closing Remarks
To reiterate, the thesis question was ‘What can Architecture do to appeal to occupants selfesteem, overcome stigma to engage in activities and promote passive mental recovery?’ The research conducted in this thesis led to the proposal of three concepts: ‘Form follows Availability’, ‘Emergent Co-Design’ and ‘Sensory Modulation’. All of these concepts can be applied to Architecture in a general context and each one links back to how Architecture influences a persons mental health.
The sequence in which these concepts have been presented gives a structured approach on how to apply them to any Architectural project. Starting with ‘Form follows Availability’ which starts at a building and urban scale and ending with ‘Sensory Modulation’ which focuses on specific moments within the design. The final result of applying all of these concepts is a design that is conscious of the climate crisis and has been planned out to minimise any carbon emissions, embraces a form that is defined by availability whilst also taking advantage of new opportunities, empowers occupants by enabling them to engage in the design of certain spaces and makes use of sensory inputs to promote passive recovery.
FIGURE 20: Existing Site Perspective Render
FIGURE 21: Proposed Site Perspective Render
Bibliography
FIGURES
• Author Produced:
* Figures 1 (graphics only, not statistics), 2 - 4, 6 - 8, 10 - 21
• Australian Bureau of Statistics. “National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing”. Updated November 10, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-healthstrengthening-our-response
* Figure 1 (statistics)
• Assemble. “Granby Winter Garden”. Updated November 10, 2024. https://assemblestudio. co.uk/projects/granby-winter-gardens
* Figure 5
• Headspace. “Headspace Camperdown”. Updated November 11, 2024. https://headspace. org.au/headspace-centres/headspace-camperdown/
* Figure 9
REFERENCES
Assemble. “Granby Winter Garden”. Updated November 10, 2024. https://assemblestudio. co.uk/projects/granby-winter-gardens
Australian Bureau of Statistics. “National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing”. Updated November 10, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-healthstrengthening-our-response
Champagne, Tina. Sensory Modulation & Environment: Essential Elements of Occupation Third edition. https://www.ot-innovations.com/clinical-practice/sensory-modulation/thesensory-modulation-program-for-adolescents-adults/
Channon, Ben. The Happy Design Toolkit : Architecture for Better Mental Wellbeing� (London: RIBA Publications, 2022). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003277897.
Hepburn, Leigh-Anne, Smith, Chris, McNeill, Donald, and Dibbs, Jason. Spaces of Co-Design in Mental Health, Neurology and Neuroscience. (Australia: Routledge, 2024).
Josefsson, Taleen Astrid, and Liane Thuvander. Form Follows Availability: The Reuse Revolution. BEYOND 2020 – World Sustainable Built Environment Conference, Gothenburg, Virtual Conference, (Sweden 588, no. 4, 2020): 42037-. https://doi.org/10.1088/17551315/588/4/042037.
Marcus, Clare Cooper, and Sachs, Naomi A. Therapeutic Landscapes : An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces� Newark: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (ProQuest Ebook Central, 2013).
Roe, Jenny, and Layla Mccay. Restorative Cities : Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing First edition. London (England: Bloomsbury VISUAL ARTS, 2021). https://doi. org/10.5040/9781350112919.
Verderber, Stephen. Innovations in Behavioural Health Architecture� Milton Park, Abingdon ; (Routledge, 2018). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315213866.
World Health Organisation. “Mental Health”. Updated November 10, 2024. https://www.who. int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response