Nerves & Nodes and the Connections in Between: Architectural Thesis on Grief, Loss & Trauma

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Nerves + Node ections ...and the conn in between

eeswaran

Renu Varadh n r o b s O io d Stu

Nerves + Nodes ...and the connections in between

Studio Osborn

B. Architecture Thesis June 15, 2020

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Table of Contents Introduction Literature Review Site Definition Program Development Abstract | Vellum Conceptual Design Proposal Model Explorations Details Form Representation

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Space and Healing: How Architecture Ca Architecture that provides adaptability is necessary for individuals experiencing private, intimate emotions in the same space to address these feelings in their own ways, with spaces that fit the needs of someone that wants solace or someone that wants the company of others, through space that has a variability that provides the necessary comfort for people that are in different stages of grief.

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an Facilitate Loss, Healing and Recovery

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Architecture that provides adaptability is necessary for individuals experiencing private, intimate emotions in the same space to address these feelings in their own ways, with spaces that fit the needs of someone that wants solace or someone that wants the company of others, through space that has a variability that provides the necessary comfort for people that are in different stages of grief.

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The idea of loss is one that we as a society, regardless of geographical location, culture, religion, race, etc., tend to shy away from. The negative emotions that are associated with loss are typically emotions that we struggle to deal with, often avoiding them entirely. Yet, loss is an integral part of our lives, as are healing and recovery. We are constantly placed in situations in which we need to handle the more difficult and stressful emotions that are simply a part of human life, such as death, illness, depression, injury, etc. This makes it crucial that we learn to cope with feelings of loss better, so these unaddressed emotions do not compound and worsen in severity. The architecture used by people experiencing these emotions are typically borrowed spaces that aren’t intended for this particular use, making them not as effective as they could and should be. It’s important that we have spaces that can facilitate and help navigate the harder, more unpleasant emotions of human life, particularly loss. Existing architecture fails to accommodate for the more negative, difficult emotions that humans tend to experience. It is imperative that this is addressed, whether that be a space that is integrated into a hospital, or a separate spiritual space or wellness center that acts in conjecture to a hospital. This could help offset the immense amounts of loss that are felt in a typical hospital environment. Architecture that provides adaptability is necessary for individuals experiencing private, intimate emotions in the same space to address these feelings in their own ways.

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Literature Reviews 10

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Arguments

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Adaptability and Circulation There is a need for architecture that can guide individuals through emotional stages. Loss and grief are strongly tied to each person, as they progress through the stages, they go through an incredibly personal and intimate experience. “Architecture for mourning should provide a place for memories to be recollected and made. Loss is a dynamic occurrence that changes but never fully goes away�. The most important principle is to create a space that allows everyone to go through grief in their own way. The adaptability of a space becomes crucial in navigating these emotions.

In addition, circulation and movement can be used as a tool for healing. “Through deliberate control of motor behavior and its consequent proprioception and interoception, one could regulate his emotions and affect his feelings. This concept is used in dance/movement (psycho)therapy

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where, by guiding to move in a certain way, the therapist helps the client to evoke, process, and regulate specific emotions�. This principle can be architecturally translated to circulation through spaces that instigate certain motions.

How can someone that grieves in solace be accommodated in the same space as someone that wants to express their feelings and converse with others? The architecture should serve as a backdrop that guides individuals through the stages. “It contains no imagery or forms of religious affiliation, focusing instead on commemorating the life of the deceased. Velvety surfaces and an abundance of natural light combine in a deeply contemplative environment�. The borrowed environments for these aspects of human life should be replaced by spaces that place an emphasis on bereavement and remembrance.

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Chichu Museum | Japan

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Spaces to Evoke, Gather and Reflect on Emotions

Another way to approach grief and loss is through spaces of solidarity. Powerful existing spaces, such as the “contemplation room” highlight “the need for design interventions that could provide spaces of solidarity that had the capability of giving a sense of peace and comfort to marginalized communities affected by systematic violence and injustice. Architecture as design agency to foster and empower spaces that can promote social and cultural change” . Architecture has the power to draw a group of individual’s attentions onto one thought, person, etc. The National Museum of African American History and Culture conveys remembrance through a series of spaces that guide the individual through history in a sense. You begin the journey in a space that is dark, with low ceilings, as you learn about the hardships and unfairness the slaves had to endure. As you progress through the museum, it

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eventually opens up to double height ceilings, well-lit gallery spaces, etc. to reflect when some freedom was achieved.

The space invokes emotions and guides you through the process of remembrance and bereavement. The final step of the journey is the Contemplation Room. It’s the final step in the journey through the museum. After being exposed to so many emotions, it serves as an opportunity to think about the whole journey you just took. This museum is a great precedent to a space that facilitates and navigates through the hard emotions of grief and loss. There is only one way to experience the museum, and that adds to the emotional journey through the space. The journey through the museum ending in a space where one can focus and collect all of the emotions they experienced along the path is an important tool to address and resolve these stressful emotions and make peace with the experience.

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21 National Museum of African American History and Culture | Washington D.C. 21

“End of Life” Architecture Hospice care is another area where the harder emotions are dominant. Typically, in an environment meant for someone to die in, the design doesn’t seem important. However, how can the architecture be used to elevate even this aspect of life?

“As hospice design becomes more formally ambitious — and standardized — we should remember there is no universal model for ‘dying well’. The aesthetics of Maggie’s Centers emphasizes that architecture intended for people to die in does not need to be a bleak and depressing environment.

The architecture can be used as a medium for artistic

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expression, while simultaneously providing spaces that allow for “death with dignity”. “Collectively, Maggie’s Centres function as a cultural argument, that art and architecture should play a central role in mediating society’s engagement with mortality”. It’s important to create an adaptability even with this type of program, that accounts for the different ways in which people would want to depart from the world.

Spaces need to facilitate this journey but allow for everyone to facilitate the journey in their own personal manner.

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25 Maggie’s Center 25

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Loss and Grief: Difficult Emotions to Address When it comes to feelings of loss, grief and mourning, people bury these emotions and don’t know how to address them or deal with them. Different individuals can also experience different emotions when placed in the same situation or crisis. Loss and grief can come in many forms.

Someone learning that they will never walk again would experience a great deal of grief in regard to all of the things that they will never be able to experience in their life again.

Meanwhile, their family and friends would be experiencing a similar set of emotions because they care for this person.

A different situation could be someone learning that their significant other is in a coma. This would result in a type of mourning. Despite the fact that they are still alive, the level of uncertainty of their state would cause a great deal of pain and anxiety for their loved ones, but the emotions felt would be different than if someone were to pass away. There would be an added layer of hope that they would still be able 28 28

to recover. A doctor or hospital staff are typically viewed as people that have less empathy or removed emotionally.

However, being exposed to the loss of people often doesn’t necessarily remove them from experiencing these negative emotions. They are also dealing with emotions of loss and grief regardless of whether or not they express it due to the position they hold.

These are all different situations and perspectives that are viewed as negative emotions, despite events of loss and grief being integral to human life. Burying these emotions is a problem because it means that they are never truly dealt with, nor fully resolved and addressed, causing these emotions to get layered on top of one another. This can lead to long term anxiety and stress, as well as depression, resulting from the continual lingering of these emotions.

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31 Matramandir | Auroville, Pondicherry, India 31

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Lack of Architecture for Loss There isn’t typically architecture that facilitates people dealing with these types of negative emotions. This should be determined from what the individual user’s needs are, creating spaces that better fit those needs. For example, spaces for funerals or bereavement are usually borrowed spaces that weren’t designed for these types of activities.

Even funeral homes aren’t approached as a design problem to create comfortable spaces in which people can address these emotions that they are experiencing.

Another key reason that existing spaces of loss don’t accommodate healing for everyone is because dealing with loss is strongly tied to religion. We often mourn based on the religious beliefs of the person that passes away.

This is apparent just through the main aspects of various religion-based funerals. Hindu funerals are a celebration of the departed life. There is a funeral procession through the 34 34

streets with dancing, music, throwing flowers, etc. Christian or catholic funerals are solemn and focused on paying respects to the departed. Everyone is dressed in black typically, and the funeral characteristically takes place in a cemetery. Muslim funeral services aren’t allowed to happen within the mosque and occur in a prayer room or study room.

Everyone collectively prays for the departed soul. Now, how could we expect people of different cultures and religions to be able to collectively process stressful situations if their fundamental reactions to loss are different? The spaces shouldn’t be focused on creating happy spaces but rather spaces that provide a comfortable background for people to focus on the emotions that they are experiencing irrespective of religion and cultural upbringing. This can be accomplished through lighting techniques, the internal forms, textures, colors, natural elements, etc., things which all people react to in similar ways.

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Emotion Based Architectural Needs The various stages of grief and loss and how individuals handle these emotions require different types of architectural spaces. The needs would vary depending on the array of emotions people would feel in the different stages. There are five stages of grief according to the Kubler Ross Model. These are: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finally Acceptance. We must also establish that grief and loss are incredibly personal experiences. One person may want to deal with these emotions on their own and reflect through how they are feeling in solitude. On the

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other hand, a different person may want the comfort of their friends and family when they receive devastating news.

There are also other crucial aspects of experiencing grief and loss that we need to take into account. The five stages of loss do not necessarily occur in any specific order.

The stages of grief and mourning are universal and are experienced by people from all walks of life, across many cultures. Mourning occurs in response to an individual’s own terminal illness, the loss of a close relationship, or to the death of a valued being, human or animal.

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Spatial Arrangement that allows Variability The spaces need to be adaptable because people don’t all go through all of the stages in the same order or even necessarily experience all of the stages. The spatial arrangement thus becomes important in facilitating this fluidity and adaptability. How do you accommodate individuals that are all experiencing different stages of grief at the same time in one space? One person may be in denial and need to be consoled. One person may already be at the stage of acceptance and doesn’t wish to be alone. Someone may be experiencing a lot of anger and therefore cannot be near someone that is in a more fragile state of mind. The spaces

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need to be designed for the needs of someone in each of the varying stages of grief. They also cannot be arranged in a restrictive manner that forces someone to have to experience the stages in a certain order. This calls for a level of flexibility in the spatial arrangement that someone can use the architecture to help facilitate the stages that they are experiencing in the order in which they are experiencing them in. Rather than spaces being in a sequence, spaces being arranged in a manner that allows for access in difference sequences depending on the needs of the user’s emotions would create the most effective backdrop.

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Michael Reese Hospital 2929 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60616 Bronzeville, Near South Side

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Site Definition

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Site Definition Metropolitan cities have high population densities, with an incredible variety of race, socio-economic classes, gender, age, religion, etc. They also require hospitals that are easily accessible and close in proximity wherever you are in the city. Exploring how to create a space that is adaptable to the needs of how different people grieve, handle loss, and react when experiencing stressful negative emotions requires a diverse group of users. A high-density city would offer the necessary diversity to create highly adaptable spaces that would meet the needs of a variety of people from drastically different walks of life. This architectural exploration would be the strongest if located somewhere that draws to both the wealthy and poor, different races, different religions, etc.

Nearly all major cities typically have areas that are considered dangerous or undesirable. These communities

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are often subjected to a systematic oppression due to a lack of resources and support. Resources and facilities such as hospital, schools, businesses, libraries and other community enrichment resources are lacking in areas with majoring minority or low-income Americans. There is also not much interaction between the people of these varying areas, with the wealthier typically avoiding the so-called dangerous parts of a city. In Chicago, this can be identified as the South Side of Chicago, which is plagued with high occurrences of homicides and crimes., People in the West and North of Chicago don’t usually find themselves needing to venture into the South Side due to these factors. This dynamic is apparent in many other cities in the US, such as Manhattan vs the Bronx, the Tenderloin in San Francisco, etc.

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Occurences of Crime in Chicago, IL (2019)

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Michael Reese Hospital The former site of the Reese Michael Hospital, which is located near South Side in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, IL is the perfect location that depicts these qualities.

The original hospital was built in 1881 with a primary focus to provide service to patients regardless of their race, gender or religion, which was incredibly progressive for that time period. The neighborhood at the creation of the hospital was predominantly German Jews but has since become more diverse. The site is situated in the center of socio-economic and racial diversity and has a close proximity to the University of Chicago and its large student population. The area is also in need of a hospital since the original hospital was closed in 2009 due to the infrastructure deteriorating and the financial burden of treating a high percentage of uninsured patients.

Prior to its closure, it was one of the largest hospitals in

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Chicago, as well as a major research and teaching hospital as well. At its peak, it had 300,000 patients in its health plan.

The site’s location is also ideal beacause it is easily accessible by public transportation and two highways. Its situated close to the lakefront and the University of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology, placing it in the middle of a lot of busy areas. The location has been subjected to some gentrification, but not quite as much as the neighborhoods closer to the main Loop, which is reflected in the high variation in median household incomes around the site.

This site lends itself to have a hospital once again, but one that accounts for the diversity and provides spaces of high adaptability to create the most effective hospital for all of those around and in Bronzeville.

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Hospitals & Trauma Center Proximity | Chicago, IL Norweigen American Hospital Northwestern Memorial Hospital

John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County St Anthony Affiliate

Rush University Medical Center University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System

Mount Sinai Hospital Saint Anthony Hospital

Mercy Hospital & Medical Center

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Trauma Center

Provident Hospital of Cook County

Bronzeville, Near South Side | Chicago, IL

Michael Reese Hospital

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Site Plan 1/128”=1’

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Level 1 Trauma Care Center Through mapping, it’s apparent that this region is lacking in enough Level 1 Trauma Care facilities. Even though there are higher instances of homicides in the South side of Chicago, the distribution of these facilities is primarily in the West Loop. If someone were to receive a gunshot wound more than five miles from a Level 1 Trauma Care Center, the mortality rates drastically increasing. Placing a Trauma Center back in this area therefore becomes imperative to assist towards the improvement of resources for these communities that direly need them. The location will also serve as an in-between space that can facilitate interaction between people of different socio-economic standing, that can help alleviate the systematic cycle of oppression that occurs with the well-off controlling money and where resources are distributed. This calls for a new type of program that not only addresses physical trauma and injuries, but views a person and their community holistically and meets the emotional needs of their trauma as well.

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Level 1 Trauma Care + Wellness Center 60 60

Program Development

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Trauma Deserts

deterioration of communites through systematic barriers in develoment and lack of resources

HOSPITALS

cardiology | emergency | intensive care unit | neonatology | oncology | obstetrics | gynaecology | maternity ward | nursing department | research | outpatient department | behavioral health services | physical therapy | dentistry | dermatology | psychiatric ward | rehabilitation services | depensary | pharmacy | pathology | radiology | medical records department | release of information departments | information management | clinical engineering | biomedical engineering | plant opperations | dining services | security departments

LEVEL 1 TRAUMA CENTER Places of high violence and homicides, such as major cities, require easy accessibility and proximity to Level 1 trauma centers. Being shot more than 5 miles from a trauma center results in longer prehospital transport times, drastically increasing mortality from gunshot wounds

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Utility vs User Experience WELLNESS CENTERS

spiritual spaces | cafes | library | community space | counseling rooms | reading lounges | gardens | walking/biking trails

physcologial effects and emotional trauma from repeated vioence and loss for loved ones and the community that go unaddressed in a hospital environment a new typology that provides the utility of a trauma center as well as the benefits of a wellness center to process the grief of loss, allowing for communities to have a space to facilitate 63 the healing and recovery process

Problems with Existing Healthcare

Existing spaces of healing are usually focused on either physical well-being or mental health.

Hospitals fail to consider the emotional trauma patients and their family, friends and communities experience. Wellness centers focus on this aspect better, such as Maggie’s Centers. These centers are intended for Cancer patients and their families to come to terms with their life coming to an end. They often feature programs such as counseling spaces, gardens, libraries, community spaces, etc. This approach creates spaces intended to prepare and address emotions of loss and grief, however someone may need to handle it.

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The Evolution of the Hospital Typology There are a variety of hospital typologies, ranging from super specialized hospitals to more general hospitals to large scale institutions that include many different units. Many of the larger hospitals also include research facilities and typically have Universitys as partners for students to work through medical school and their residency rotations. The amount of technology and advancements in the Medical field have drastically improved over the 2500 years hospital like or medical insitutions have existed. Starting all the way back with Egyptian temples, to Ancient Greek healer-gods, to medical treatments in the Roman empire, many of the ancient civilizations had facilities they performed treatment in. There is also evidence of hospitals in 150 BCE in India. Different cultures also have different styles of treating apart from Western medicine, such as ayurveda. It has been a changing typology of centuries and will remain changing as we discover new technologies.

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Hospital Precedents

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Yeovil Hospital

Higher Kingston, United Kingdom

Wellness Center Precedents

Maggies Cancer Caring Center / Snøhetta Aberdeen, United Kingdom

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Maggie’s Cancer Care Center by Hamideh Rimaz

Seoul St, Tehran

New Program Typology There is a need for a new program typology that combines a Level 1 Trauma Care Center with a Wellness center. This way, all types and levels of trauma can be addressed for not just the patient, but for the community as well. This would go beyond just having the utility-based programs of a hospital, such as patient rooms, lobbies, nurses’ quarters, labs, etc., but would draw in gardens, community spaces, reflection spaces, meditation rooms and more. This new typology would offer more than just physical support with the introduction of program focused specifically on emotional damage. A community space can also further encourage

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interaction between people from different socio-economic standings, races, cultures, etc., creating a group dynamic that could potentially alleviate the lack of fair distribution of resources. This would allow everyone to have a better understanding of what communities in more dangerous parts of cities endure, rather than viewing all of them as criminals as many do currently. An elevated user experience also aids with improved physical recovery, by merging the two approaches that a trauma center and wellness center would take into one approach.

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75 Khoo Teck Puat Hospital | Singapore 75

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77 Khoo Teck Puat Hospital | Singapore 77

Ganzfeld Efffect 78 78

Abstract

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Change through the different colors.

SENSORY O SEN Do your emotions ever drastically change?

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overwhelming uniform stimulation perceptual deprivation

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Ganzfeld Effect

Hold the mask up to your face.

Turn on the strobe mode.

Hold the piece up to your eyes.

Change through the different colors.

SENSORY O SEN Do your emotions ever drastically change?

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overwhelming uniform stimulation perceptual deprivation

Ganzfeld Effect

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OVERLOAD What does a space of loss look like?

Or maybe you just want someone to share the emotions with?

Renu Varadheeswaran

Put your head inside of the bowl.

Do it, put your head inside of the giant glass bowl.

OVERLOAD What does a space of loss look like?

Or maybe you just want someone to share the emotions with?

Renu Varadheeswaran

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Abstract The abstract pieces served as a first exploration of how people’s comfort levels and needs vary. The focus was on how as a society, we typically avoid dealing with emotions of loss and grief and often use borrowed architecture as spaces of loss and how the solution could be represented in a physical object. How do you create a space that accommodates the different ways in which individuals process emotions? How do you create spaces that have a tangible variability where someone could be having a personal intimate experience while others can process their emotions collectively? As a first exploration, the abstract pieces collectively conveyed this. The three objects express the same effect of overstimulating the sense of vision, yet in a spectrum of variability in regard to how much the user can see through the object and how much of the user is visible

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to others while they are using the object. The first object is a simple eyepiece with lights on the inside. With this object, the user has no visibility through the object, yet the eyepiece doesn’t cover much of the user. The second object allows the user to see shadows through the object but obscures the user’s entire face. The final object provides the most visibility through it but encompasses the user’s entire head, making the user far less visible to on-lookers. It was interesting to see who was comfortable enough to put their head inside a large glass bowl and who chose to stick to one of the two other objects. Some were even more comfortable or found the third object the most enjoyable, and others were a bit disturbed by the lighting effect produced by placing the mask on their faces. Overall, the three objects reiterated the need for variability to allow different individuals to feel comfortable.

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the inhabitable light fixture 94 94

Vellum

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As a society, we typically avoid dealing with emotions of loss and grief and often use borrowed architecture as spaces of loss. How do you create a space that accomodates the different ways in which individuals process emotions? How do you create spaces that have a tangible variabilty where someone could be having a personal intimate experience while others can process their emotions collectively?

The intention of this light fixture is to create a space that the user can control, in terms of how concealed they are from those outside of the fixture. Once you enter the fixture, the direction you choose to orient yourself dictates the amount of visibility you have to the outside world. The idea of adaptability is something we require in many of our spaces, yet currently lack.

Ganzfeld Effect

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Renu Varadheeswaran | Studio Osborn

Vellum The focus of the second exploration was to take what was successful in the abstract pieces and combine them into one piece. Since it had to be a full scaled object, the approach was to create a piece of furniture that was occupiable. The concept behind the occupiable light fixture was to create an immersive experience that the user could control. The double ring of the structure, with the undulating central ring, creates different amounts of space between the two layers of fiber optic cables, altering the amount of visibility that the user has to the outside, as well as the visibility from outside to inside. The second variable is the length of fiber optic cables,

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resulting in different amounts of the surroundings outside of the fixture being obscured depending on the direction the individual chooses to face. Similarly, this also affects how much of the user is obscured to the passersby, determined by what side of the fixture the onlooker is viewing the user from. This second exploration combined the variability of the three objects from before into a single, full scale occupiable furniture, giving the user full control of the adaptability of the light fixture. In addition, it also engaged the users senses through a similar, but more subtle display of light that they could also control the hue of.

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Circulation and Interiors 108 108

First Conceptual Design

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First Conceptual Design Proposal

Rather than approaching this issue through an overall form first, it would be more effective to focus on developing the types of interior spaces that can instill emotions in people, as well as the circulation between them. The spaces would be presented in non-sequential manner which would give the user more control over what type of space they want to be inside of. Since humans deal with processing emotions through how they move, circulation will be the more important design tool. If a person is feeling angry, would they want to embrace that emotion or cancel it out? Providing the user the option between going into a space that exacerbates the emotion they are already feeling, in this case a space that has dark red tones that can increase the sensation of being angry, or going into a space that has the opposite effect, potentially cool blue tones and curves that result in a calming effect. The design will accomplish this through a variety of spaces with variation in both colors and lighting, but also through the forms and what emotions certain forms will evoke.

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Form Generation Exploration

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Layout

Disruption

Subtraction

Form Explorations

Intersection

Void

JRV 1/22/20

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Form Explorations

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Moments of Hesitation 118 118

3D Form Generation

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Methods A typical hospital environment is infamous for creating unappealing spaces, and often, the first image that pops into mind when thinking about a hospital is a long, narrow, white, sterile hallway flooded with fluorescent lighting. How do you take a building typology that is heavily dictated by the efficiency of the space and focused on utility to be better for the user experience?

The form generation method began with a grid. The grid is necessary to retain the organization of a space that is easily navigable and provides order. A repetitive curved geometry was then introduced to this. A simple quarter circle or arc was overlaid in a repeating sequence on the existing grid.

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The goal was to study the intersectionality of the rectilinear and curvilinear. These intersections provided a third type of space. The circulation and program were apparent, but the third type of space was the unusable spaces in the intersections, were the arch met the grid. The emotional spaces can bleed into this third type of space, taking these “unusable spaces� and elevating them to thought provoking moments throughout the hospital rather than it being constrained in set room like environments. These moments can then instigate emotions, cutting through the monotonous nature of a typical hospital, allowing people to process their grief or emotions.

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Form Explorations 3D

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Form Explorations 3D

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Modules and Programs The overall form that was produced from this method was a module that could easily be replicated along the length of the site. The modular aspect makes it easy to mold the form to meet the needs of the different types of spaces and programs. The curves have the necessary fluidity in regard to what becomes a full height wall, what’s a simple partial divider, window, or even just a material change. While just the trauma and wellness center is the focus of this thesis, the rest of the massive hospital can easily be programed with the necessary other types of hospital care such as cardiovascular care, pediatrics, etc.

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Replicated Form The overall form that was produced from this method was a module that could easily be replicated along the length of the site. The modular aspect makes it easy to mold the form to meet the needs of the different types of spaces and programs. The curves have the necessary fluidity in regard to what becomes a full height wall, what’s a simple partial divider, window, or even just a material change. While just the trauma and wellness center is the focus of this thesis, the rest of the massive hospital can easily be programed with the necessary other types of hospital care such as cardiovascular care, pediatrics, etc.

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Section

Section 1

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Section 2

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Circulation The most important component of the form is the circulation.

Due to the nature of the different trauma care programs and wellness programs in the same building, there is a clear need for two distinct approaches to circulation, a primary mode and a secondary. The primary circulation is focused on the physical care and level 1 trauma aspect. This becomes the primary because the time and efficiency components are important. The amount of time it takes for a patient to get from point A to B is of the utmost importance because those extra few minutes could be the difference in saving a life or not. The circulation is is produced by clear, straight pathways that intersect at nodes. This breaks up the monotony of a long hallway and allows for easy changes in direction. It is efficient and also provides clear visual connection from one point to the next.

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The secondary circulation is focused on the emotional, user experience and the wellness related programs. With this, the time factor is much less crucial, and the importance falls on the process or journey from getting around the space. This path will come to points where the user will need to choose if they take one path or the other, with no clear visual cues of where point B is. This narrower, non-straight pathway will allow for the user to interact with the various emotional instigating moments throughout the hospital, and the travel becomes an architectural tool that can aid in processing through their emotions and grief.

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Circulation | primary&secondary Level 1 Trauma Care Direct, clear access is important for the programs focused on saving lives, where time is crucial. The nodes with intersecting pathways allows easy movement through the space, allowing for these activities to occur without interuption.

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Wellness and Emotional Care Circulation is an architectural tool that can be used to create hesitations, provoking and instigating thought as the users travel through spaces. This will spark the process of working through emotions, enabling proper emotional healing. Time is not a crucial factor for these programs as it was for the Trauma Care.

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Precedent Circulation

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Formal Drawings Iteration 1 144 144

Site Plans | Floor Plans | Sections

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Level 1 146

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UChicago | IIT

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Floorplan 1

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Floorplan 2

Operating Room

Operating Room

Trauma

Testing Room

Testing Room

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Testing Room

Storage

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solation Room

Check-in

Physician’s Office

UChicago | IIT

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Lobby

Isolation Room 149

Elevation

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UChicago | IIT

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UChicago | IIT

Chicago Loop

CTA blue line

Lake Michigan

Level 1 Trauma Care & Wellness Center

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Women’s & Children’s Center

Large Scale Program

Research Center

Nurse’s Quarters

UChicago University Health Studies

Inpatient Services

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Elevation

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Contemplation perspective

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Movement perspective

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Site | Form | Circulation

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Acrylic Layers w/ Paint Floorplans

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Site Models

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Public Health Crisis + Global Pandemic

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Public Health Crisis + Global Pandemic As we grapple with the full impact of this pandemic, with nearly the entire world shut down, it’s important to think of those that have lost their lives to the virus. Many governments and countries are focusing on the economic shutdowns and the financial ramifications of the public health crisis rather than focusing on the primarily public health issue we face.

This airborne respiratory illness has drastically impacted lives, but in particular how health care works. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the globe have died in insolation, without the comfort and support of their family and friends being close to them. The threat the virus poses has resulted in Covid-19 patients not being allowed to have visitors. As humans, we typically crave and desire intimacy and comfort, especially in times of hardship. Yet, people are being stripped of their opportunities to say goodbye, hold hands, and pass away surrounded by doctors and nurses clad in personal protective equipment.

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But what if you didn’t need to enter a hospital to visit someone? What if intimacy didn’t have to be from physical touch, but can be achieved through interactions through a barrier? The barrier can just stop the virus and not the nuances of human affection. The isolation wing is formulated by having access to each patient room from the exterior, allowing visitors to interact with them from the outside. This mitigates the dangers of the virus and enables patients to have familial support more easily. This design strategy has an added benefit of creating an incredibly porous form. This allows for natural light, open air atriums, as well as creating a visually stimulating space.

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Formal Representation 194 194

Siteplan | Elevation | Renders

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Lake Michigan

public vs private

Chicago, IL

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public private

Site

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The feeling of loss is difficult to process, often avoided, ignored and unresolved. Through the implementation of spaces or nooks that create hesitation, these moments of pause provoke thought and emotion. This instigates the process of dealing with these difficult emotions. 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. These spaces range, some can be occupied by the individual, act as a reflection space or a space to hide in when they don’t want to interact with other people. Some of these spaces can be for a group, allowing for movement through them, making the space about circulation. This provides the necessary variability and adaptability to allow for diverse and effective spaces of loss. The goal is to address these perceived negative emotions through the experience of circulating through spaces, creating a more effective, balanced hospital, not only for the patient with physical trauma, but for their family, friends and community that have endured the associated emotional trauma. 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. There needs to be a redefinition of how loss and recovery are addressed.

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Architecture that provides adaptability is necessary for individuals experiencing private, intimate emotions in the same space to address these feelings in their own ways, with spaces that fit the needs of someone that wants solace or someone that wants the company of others. The space needs to have a variability that provides the necessary comfort for people that are in different stages of grief, taking into consideration that not everyone experiences all of the stages of grief, and also that they don’t necessarily experience them in the same sequence. Existing architectural spaces that are used for grieving or addressing loss are more often than not borrowed spaces from other typologies that fail to aid in the process. This conceptual concern that we don’t have architecture with adaptable variability that allows people to have varying emotions can be applied to a variety of architectural spaces. This could range from high stress and emotional spaces like hospitals, particularly emergency rooms and waiting areas, to even office spaces, that people of varying personalities occupy for extended amounts of time when they are stressed. It could also be a space that is integrated into existing typologies, or functions as a space of support that works in conjecture with other architecture.

Overall, it is imperative that architecture becomes more adaptable to allow individuals to gain what they need from spaces. This would increase overall happiness and wellness for users, as well as efficiency and productivity as a result, making for a better user experience in the architecture 221 typologies we occupy constantly.

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Nerves + Nodes ...and the connections in between

Studio Osborn

B. Architecture Thesis June 15, 2020

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