Behavioral Health Center Thesis 2020

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Virginia Tech Mental Health Campus Asma Chhipa Thesis 2020



To my family, friends, professors, mentors, and a special thanks to my caring husband. Without you by my side this year, I could not have reached this moment.


Mental Health Crisis For my thesis, I am exploring mental health centers on college campuses, specifically at Virginia Tech. I believe that the mental health services on campus have not been beneficial to students due to the distance of the facility to students, scarcity of resources, and crisis response methods involving the police. To combat this issue, I am proposing a new facility and urging the university to restructure its crisis response. Through the addition of a new facility, restructuring the crisis response, and biophilic design, I want to create an example for universities across America.


Brown University

441:1

447:1

1,535:1

Total Undergraduates 14,315

Total Undergraduates

ratio of undergraduates to mental health providers

Total Providers 15

2 Weeks

Cost per session $10

Wait Time:

$30 Wait Time:

Total Providers 25

3 Weeks

Total Undergraduates

Cost per session

27,000

Free Wait Time:

Total Providers 32

2 Weeks

Cost per session

38,364

ratio of undergraduates to mental health providers

Virginia Tech

Free Wait

ratio of undergraduates to mental health providers

Indiana University

Cost per session

6,652

ratio of undergraduates to mental health providers

Cornell University

700:1

Total Undergraduates

2 Weeks

Total Providers 40



Precedents

+

Biophilic Design




BIOPHILIC DESIGN “is a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of indoor and outdoor access to nature or our built environment.�


14 Patterns of Biophilic Design Visual connection with nature Non-rhythmic sensory stimuli Non-visual connection with nature Thermal & airflow variability Dynamic & diffuse light Connection with natural systems Presence of water Complexity & order Material connection with nature Biomorphic forms & patterns RefRisk/Peril ProsMystery


Refuge

Dynamic & Diffuse Light

Visual Connection with Nature

A place for withdrawal from environmental conditions or the main flow of activity, in which the individual is protected from behind and overhead.

Leverages varying intensities of light and shadow that change over time to create conditions that occur in nature.or natural processes

A view to elements of nature, living systems and natural processes.

Auditory, haptic, olfactory, or gustatory stimuli that engender a deliberate and positive reference to nature, living systems

Non-Visual Connection with Nature

A condition that enhances the experience of a place through seeing, hearing or touching water.

Presence of Water




Designing the facility


THE SITE The site I have chosen is near the Duck Pond on the Virginia Tech campus. One of the reasons for choosing this site is because of its proximity to all campus facilities. It also has a visually pleasing landscape filled with trees and water.


Roads

Water

Paths

Campus


THE PROGRAM The new facility design consists of four major components: The mental health urgent care, the welcome center, the outpatient center, and the inpatient center. The four buildings come together to create a mental health campus that becomes an integral part of the Virginia tech campus.



Single-unit

Courtyard

Compound


e Welcom

Inpat

ient c

enter

r

ente

ent c

ati Outp

center

alth al he Ment t care n e g ur


The outpatient center is the focus of the project. It serves to replace the current outpatient clinic on campus through simple wayfinding, visibility to the outdoors, and consistent design for therapy rooms.

Therapy rooms


Level 2 11. Upstairs lobby 12. Conference room 13. Waiting area 14. Therapy room corridor 15. Toilets 16. Covered bridge to inpatient

11

12 13

16

15

14

Level 1 1. Lobby and entry 2. Toilet 3. Mechanical 4. Elevator 5. Back door 6. Reception 7. Therapy room corridor 8. Outdoor lounge area 9. Outdoor Seating 10. Inpatient Building

8 10 1

5

6

7 9

2 3

4


The welcome center is also an important component to the project. The goal of this new compound is to destigmatize mental health on the campus. Through a building designed to be populated with patients and non-patients alike, it becomes a public space for all to occupy, and blend in

E

S

W

N


8

6

7 4

1. Entry 2. Mixed seating 3. Outdoor seating 4. Indoor toilets 5. Cafe area 6. Kitchen/Mechanical 7. Spiritual room 8.Outdoor toilets

5

1 2

3



References

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/12/numbers-college https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns/

https://www.jedfoundation.org/psychiatric_times_the_crisis_in_college_and_university_mental_health/ https://www.innovativeeducators.org/blogs/news/just-thefacts-10-concerning-mental-health-stats-about-collegestudents


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