The feeling of loss is difficult to process, often avoided, ignored and unresolved. We need architecture for loss that creates pause and hesitation, provoking emotion and thought, in order to facilitate healing after loss through adaptable spaces that cater to different people’s needs. Hospitals are infamous for being monotonous, with endless, sterile, white hallways.
The idea is to disrupt this to create pause or moments of hesitation. These moments don’t fight the programs that are dependent on time and efficient circulation, but rather act in conjuncture with them to expand the treatment of physical health to encompass emotional trauma, focusing on the overall wellness of the whole community. This proposed typology of a Level 1 trauma care center and wellness center is intended to alleviate the repetitive cycles of violence in large cities, in this case, Chicago, through a redefinition of how loss and recovery are addressed.