Unveiling Grounds - Architectural Thesis

E N V I R O N M E N TA L

D E S I G N E R

I N D E X

I n t r o d u c t i o n

0 2

R e s e a r c h

0 4

S i t e

1 0

A n a l y s i s

C o n c e p t

1 6

F i n a l

2 2

P r e s e n t a t i o n

P r e s e n t a t i o n P r o c e s s

W o r k

M o d e l

3 4 4 0

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The selected project demonstrates the intervention of therapeutic environments and thoughtful programming in order to create an architecturally expressive structure. With the help of pragmatic and thoughtful programming, designs generated are conceptual and forward-thinking. Explored individually this project considers the philosophical approach of its design, and it’s siting in relation to its context and surroundings. Developed designs are communicated through sketches, orthographic drawings, scaled architectural models and three-dimensional digital renderings.

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R e s e a r c h

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According to the World Health Organizations Publication: preventing suicide: a global imperative (2014), evidence-based suicide interventions are organized into theoretical frameworks with specific risk factors. Looking at the key risk factors as-sociated with universal prevention strategies, the primary factors are driven by health systems and society. Some examples listed are barriers to accessing healthcare, access to means, inappropriate media reports and stigmas associated with help-seeking behavior. Data and Statistics combined together by the World Health Organization states that 17.6% of all deaths among young adults are accounted by suicide. 90% of the suicidal deaths can be attributed to mental illness; the type of disorders varies but the most common is depression.

Within the last five years, the percentage of Canadian students that suffer high anxiety and stress levels has increased. With visits to University Health and Wellness Centers doubling (1), statistics state that almost 90% of students have felt overwhelmed with regards to school and workload. 63% state that there are times they feel lonely and 50% feel hopeless and most shockÂŹingly, 9.5% of students to have considered taking their own lives while 1.3% actually attempted it.

In 2014, the Universities of McMaster and Dalhousie developed a Framework to address Mental Health Care needs within education systems in Yukon. The Framework was broken down into five sections each illustrating a key factor important for Health Care Centres. The five sections were illustrated as follows; common understating across all departments, underlying values, the needs for mental health, having a complex program (assessment, treatment, wraparound service) and multiple delivery models (counseling, regional hubs and more). When looking into the framework, it was clear that the knowledge sections were the foundation for the framework, but what constructed the module were the emphasis on extensive programs and multiple ways to approach the needs.

In comparison, the program development of Health Centres in Toronto, (specifically the Health and Wellness Centres of UofT, OcadU and Ryerson) have frameworks that focus more on approaching Health Care with a Clinical structure.

Various services are provided for their students including family physicians, registered nurses, Community Health Coordinators, Health ProÂŹmotion Nurses, support staff and peer health educators. In comparison to the framework developed for Yukon, there are not various ways to approach the needs for a student in Toronto. All the solutions provided by the Health Care systems are rigid.

Although both modules may be very helpful to the students and may solve the issues, the major problem is approaching these Centres for the support. The existing anti-stigma efforts have helped students feel more comfortable seeking help knowing they are not alone in what they are experiencing (1). Although many students are eager to get support, there are many that undermine their confidence and/or have pre-conceived notions against Wellness Centers.

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There are certain hormones that are associated with the reaction to stress; Glucocorticoid hormones are the final step of the activation of the hypothalamic– pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis; one of the major systems implicated in responding to environ¬mental challenges (4). In comparison, Dopamine is classified as a neurotransmitters formed by the decarboxylation from dopa. It is a monoamine; a compound containing nitrogen formed from ammonia by the replacement of the hydrogen atoms by hydrocarbon radicals.

Dopamine is commonly associated as the ‘pleasure system’ of the brain playing a huge role in the reward-motivated behavior. Frequently released in naturally rewarding experiences such as food, sex, abuse of drugs and neutral stimuli that becomes associated with them. Long-lasting stress and reduction of dopamine could be a gateway to many internal body environments for various mental diseases; including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Heart diseases, Depression and multiple other disorders.

In the Ted Talk, Designing for all 5 senses, Jinsop Lee explains how as designers we focus on things that look pretty, and a little bit of touch; focusing on sight and touch we’ve ignored the rest of the senses. Raising just one of the senses can enhance the experience of a user. Lee demonstrated this in case studies on different experiences and how they relate to the five sens¬es. Not many experiences hit all senses to a maximum except for one, sexual intercourse. Stating that sex hits all senses on a very high level is what created the saying “sex is good, even when bad.” Looking back at the information about Dopamine being a “pleasure system,” it is the highest neurotransmitter released during sex.

Everything we see, hear, taste, touch or smell initially involves Serotonin activity in the cerebral cortex. Looking at the con¬struction of a brain, the cerebral cortex is what assists with all feelings related to the mental and physical aspects of the body. Interestingly, it is also the part of the brain that, assisted by the release of dopamine, is used for concentration efforts and helping focus on current events.

This thesis argues that despite the ability of a design that includes articulate programming, visual and intellectualized imperatives, there is a loss of experiential imperatives that limit medium through which architecture is produced, promoted, and evaluated. This leads to the deprivation of vital human existential questions that enable us to relate to our built environment and that provide meaning to that environment. The thesis explores how architecture can further develop by addressing the deficiencies described with the intention to further incorporate a sense of temporality, experiential depth and personal belonging.

In architecture, sensory design is an under-utilized element. Traditionally, the approach to the senses has been static and passive, regarding each sense modality as independent, but treating auditory, tactile, haptic, gustatory and olfactory senses as secondary to the visual.

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1.3 ACTUA LLY AT T EMPT ED I T.

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Focusing on Post-Secondary students dealing with high anxiety and stress levels, how can the intervention of therapeutic environments and thoughtful programming provide the means by which one can escape from isolation in mental distress. Unveiling grounds creates a parallel relationship of the ground and spaces underneath, layering them to create divisions of entities. Gradual slopes puncture the ground in order to create light movements of decent which lead to an open arena that is infused with a soft installation suspended from the ceiling. The building itself is a movement of slowly entering the ground and then exiting as a metaphor of going under but getting back out. Soft moments infused within a single entity that all come together in order to Unveil the Grounds.

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S i t e

A n a l y s i s

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This thesis is located at George Lipson Park. This three-part park runs adjacent to Yonge St. located between Bloor St. and Wellesley St. When researching a site for this thesis, the intention was to find an unused space. George Lipson park is one of many pieces of lands that are owned by the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission), who bought the piece of land when constructing the Yonge Subway line that runs beneath.

Post construction, TTC did not want to sell off the land but nor did they have any use for it. Hence, this property was left untouched and un-used until local residents commissioned to keep it alive and use it as a park. Upon visiting the site, most of the time the property is used in order to pass through, and during the night it is visited by many people going to nearby bars. This site not only was a perfect location, but also moved the thesis to explore how to navigate through public parks in order to make them a bit more interactive.

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RESIDENCE WORK GOVERNMENT SHOPPING BAR RESTAURANT CAFÉ

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C o n c e p t

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There is this ideaology that one has “highs” and “lows”. That when you feel sad, upset or stressed you are “down”. Taking this ideaology, the notion of going down and then back up is explored to see what type of movements it creates.

When drawn out, the movement mimics the notion of going undergrown and then resurfasing.

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The movements are then further explored, repeated over each other and layered in order to create a conceptual representation. These movements not only represent the notion of going underground and resurfacing but also start molding the architectural concept of the thesis.

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F i n a l

P r e s e n t a t i o n

23

Floor Plan Ground Level

Floor Plan Under Ground Level

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Reception The reception is the main entrance of the building, controlling the traffic coming in. The user will enter from a ramp scooped out of the ground to provide a gradual transition. An open space with no furniture the primary function of this space is to create a place where people can mingle before a talk, or a place where refreshments are placed before the guests enter the community rooms.

The user will exit the reception, either by going back up to ground level, or following a ramp that leads them to the community room.

STORAGE OFFICE

S TA F F R O O M COMMUNITY ROOM RECEPTION

Community Room The objective of this rooms is to provide a space for the community to run workshops, have talks, have meetings, have activities. It is a way for the community to come together for various reasons. Activities will be flexible for users to join in and open up to walk ins. The community rooms will be able to be manipulated to either become auditoriums, workshop rooms, or even study lounges when there is no activity programmed. The room itself will have modular furniture so that it can be manipulated to become what it needs to. The user will exit the community rooms the same way they enter.

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Ceiling Installation Woven throughout the building will be an installation suspended from the ceiling which users may climb onto and hang, lie or crawl around in. Spaces between the nets give the the user the option to jump into the ball pit, if they would like to. While using the nets, the user will need to interact with the other users, as when one moves, the other will have to move as well. In a conceptual comparison to real life, when an event affects an individual, it may affect the people around them as well. The space encourages working together, interaction and team building skills.

EXTERNAL PODS WASHROOMS

BALL PIT WELLNESS ROOMS

TRAMPOLINE

CAFE

INTERNAL PODS WASHROOMS

Ball Pit This Zone consists of two different spaces, the pit and the nets. This pit is a bowl scooped out of the floor full of small balls. The users may jump in, and play around with the balls, the space is a nostalgic space for an adult to enjoy a ball pit as they did when they were kids. The objective of this space is to encourage physical activity in order to give the user an adrenaline rush to release dopamine into their body.

Becoming active is vital in this zone, as physical activity is important when it comes to releasing stress.

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S E C T I O N E L E V AT I O N SCALE 1:120

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P r e s e n t a t i o n

M o d e l

35

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37

38

39

40

P r o c e s s

W o r k

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“We build the buildings that end up shaping us”- Winston Churchill

Spaces created for healing are some of the most personal and complex spaces. In order to realize what these environment need, facility designs must be linked to the organization’s goals and objectives. Traditionally, rehabilitation centers are modeled to bring people out of their environments in urban areas to the rural areas.

The belief is that by taking the users away from the negative distractions of urban environments and into the positive distractions of rural environments, the healing process will occur quicker and more effectively.

Practitioners use various ways to categorize Mental Health services in order to provide proper treatment for all types of mental health issues. Mental illness refers to a specific set of medically defined conditions. In contrast, Mental Distress is a is a term used to describe a range of symptoms and experiences of a person’s internal life that are commonly held to be troubling, confusing or out of the ordinary; mental distress is having symptoms without actually being “ill” in a medical sense. Some symptoms a person in mental distress may exhibit described in psychiatry are anxiety, confused emotions, hallucinations, rage, depression and so on.

The program development of Health Centers in Toronto, (specifically the Health and Wellness Centers of UofT, OcadU, YorkU and Ryerson) have frameworks that focus more on approaching Health Care with a Clinical structure. Various services are provided for their students including family physicians, registered nurses, Community Health Coordinators, Health Pro¬motion Nurses, support staff and peer health educators.

These facilities focus on providing help and support to those who need Medical and Psychiatric attention.

There are not many approaches to support the needs for a student who may just be going through metal distress.

Focusing on Post-Secondary students dealing with high anxiety and stress levels, how can the intervention of therapeutic environments and thoughtful programming improve wellbeing, quality of life, and reduce distress. It is the argument of this thesis that the investigation of psychological therapy as well as the intervention of various programming will provide the means by which post-secondary students can escape from isolation in mental distress. Being within experiential environments will promote a temporal awareness of one’s self and and allow to stimulate a healing environment.

The goal of these environments is to gain the users conscious process of self-healing and spiritual growth. The spaces will be designed to be therapeutic and nurturing with an objective to reduce stress. The approach of the design is to eliminate environmental stressors within an urban context by providing a rural environment within the city. It’s under the philosophy that slow and steady wins the race.

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GEORGE LIPSON PARK P

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100

200

200

300

300

400

500

400

1000

500

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NUMBER OF ROOMS

APPX. DIMENTIONS

APPX. AREA (SQ.FT.)

TOTAL APPX. AREA (SQ.FT.)

RECEPTION

1

30' X 20'

600

600

OFFICE

1

12' X 10'

120

120

STORAGE

1

6' X 6'

36

36

HYGENE

1

20' X 10'

200

200

CLEANING SUPPORT

1

6' X 6'

36

36

STAFF ROOM

1

15' X 10'

150

150

TOTAL AREAS (SQ.FT.)

LOBBY

1,142 COMMUNITY ROOMS COMMUNITY ROOM

2

25' X 15'

375

750 750

LOCKER ROOMS HYGENE

2

20' X 10'

200

400

LOCKERS

1

10' X 5'

50

50

BENCHES

1

10' X 5'

50

50

LOUNGING

1

15' X 10'

150

150 650

FITNESS NET ZONE

2

15' X 10'

150

300

BALL BIT

1

20' X 10'

200

200

TRAMPOLINE

1

45' 12'

540

540

MAZE

1

40' X 30'

1,200

1,200

ROCKCLIMBING

1

10' X 10'

100

100 2,340

COUNCELLING OFFICES

3

10' X 10'

100

300

INDIVIDUAL COUNCELING

3

12' X 12'

144

432

GROUP COUNCELING

2

20' X 10'

200

400

750

CONTEMPLATION BALL ROOM

1

15' X 15'

225

225

HAMMOCK ROOM

1

15' X 15'

225

225

DARK ROOM

1

15' X 15'

225

225

SEATING / DANCE FLOOR

1

30' X 26'

800

800

KITCHEN

1

20' X 15'

300

300

BAR

1

25' X 8'

200

200

PATIO

1

20'15'

300

300

650 1,600 1,600

BAR

1,600

CIRCULATION 25% OF TOTAL AREA

1623 SQ. FT.

AREA + CIRCULATION

6,492 SQ. FT.

TOTAL AREA

Initial Blocking Diagram

patio

seating

Initial Stacking Diagram 45

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LOCKERS / WASHROOMS

STAFF

COMMUNAL SPACE

RECEPTION

R PLAN

:120

ION CUT

:120

48

EXTERIOR PODS

WELLNESS ROOMS

TRAMPOLINE ZONE

CAFE

LOCKERS / WASHROOMS

INTERIOR PODS BALL PIT

49

ISO

POD ZONE

50

SOUTH ENTRANCE

COMMUNAL ROOM

51

52

53

54

AHMED BOKHARI COLLEEN REID // ALA ROUSHAN

91

63

50

9.5

1.3

S T UDEN TS HAVE FELT O VERWHELMED DUE TO SC HO O L AN D WO R KLO AD.

STATE THAT THE RE A RE TIM E S THE Y F E E L LO N E LY.

FEEL HOPELESS

H AV E C O N S I D E R E D TA K I N G THEIR OWN LIVES.

A C T U A L LY ATTE MP TE D IT.

F O C USING ON P OST- SECONDA RY S T U D E N T S D E A L I N G WI T H H I GH A N X I E T Y AND STR E SS LE V E LS, HO W C A N THE INTE R V E NTIO N O F THE R A PE U TIC E NV IR O NME NTS A ND THO U G H TFU L P RO G RA M M IN G P ROVID E T H E MEANS B Y WH I C H ON E C A N E S C A P E F R OM I S O LAT I ON I N ME NTA L DISTR E SS. U NV E ILING GR O U NDS C R E ATE S A PA R A LLE L R E LATIO NSHIP O F THE GR O U ND AN D S PA C ES U N D ERN E AT H , LAYERING T H EM T O C R E AT E D I V I S I ON S O F E N T I T I E S . GR A D U A L S LO P ES PU NC TU R E THE GR O U ND IN O R DE R TO C R E ATE LIGHT MO V E ME NTS O F DE C E NT WHIC H LE A D T O A N O P EN A REN A T H AT IS INF USED WIT H A SOFT I N S TA L L AT I O N S U S P E N D E D F R OM T H E C E I LI N G. THE B U ILDING ITSE LF IS A MO V E ME NT O F SLO WLY E NTE R ING THE GR O U ND A ND THE N E X ITIN G A S A M ETA P H O R O F GOING UND ER BUT GET T I N G B A C K OU T. S OF T M OM E N T S I N F U S E D W I T H I N A SINGLE E NTITY THAT A LL C O ME TO GE THE R IN O R DE R TO UNV E I L THE GR O UNDS.

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(1) As student stress hits crisis levels, universities look to ease pressure http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/as-student-stress-hits-crisis-levelsuniversities-look-to-ease-pressure/article5902668/ (2) Canadian students feel stress, anxiety, have suicidal thoughts, survey reveals http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/college-universitystudents-feel-stress-anxiety-have-suicidal-thoughts-survey-reveals/ article12613742/ (3) Preventing Suicide, a global imperative http://apps.who.int/iris/ bitstream/10665/131056/1/9789241564779_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1 (4) All About Depression http://www.allaboutdepression.com/cau_02.html (5) Marinelli, M. and Piazza, P. V. (2002), Interaction between glucocorticoid hormones, stress and psychostimulant drugs. European Journal of Neuroscience, 16: 387–394. doi: 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2002.02089.x\ http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-

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T h a n k

Yo u

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