PRELIMINARY DESIGN B

Design Concept

Concept Statement

The focus of this thesis is to study how a well-designed rehabilitation center that prioritizes accessibility to nature and various mediums of amenity-based therapy can help spinal cord injury patients heal and prepare them for life after their injury.

The city of New York is an urban jungle filled with glass skyscrapers and concrete sidewalks, however, woven into the city grid are beautiful pockets of nature and parks that were designed to escape the city. A city like New York can often feel similar to a healthcare facility, cold and rigid. The goal of my rehabilitation center is to take inspiration from the parks and nature that surround my site and introduce them to the healthcare environment through unique amenity spaces. Space planning throughout the building revolves around a constant core structure in the middle of each floor. This core acts as the spine of the building. The way-finding and paths of travel around the core are reminiscent of the spinal nerves that intertwine around the spine. Through finishes, lighting, and layout, a healthcare environment can transform into a more hospitality-based environment.

Along with access to nature, which in turn promotes quicker healing, the overall goal of the center is to teach its patients how to live with their injuries and show them that they are still able to experience the beautiful things in life.

CAFETERIAFLOORAXONOMETRIC

Color Justification

To help with way finding and visual cues in the space, the design of the core structures are supported by key color choices designated to the function of each floor. The key colors were pulled from the New York MTA subway lines that act as the nervous system of New York City in support to the larger structure of the city, similarly to how to the spinal nerves support the core bone structure of the spine.

AMENITYFLOORAXONOMETRIC

PATIENTFLOORAXONOMETRIC

THERAPYGYMFLOORAXONOMETRIC

STAFFFLOORAXONOMETRIC

LOBBYFLOORAXONOMETRIC

Space Planning

The space planning of the building revolves around a consistent functional core element. This core represents the “spine” of the building. Since this particular building is 8 floors, each core in located in the center of each floor and the paths of travel work around that core. Depending on the function of the floor, for example, the patient floors, the core is the nurse’s station and acts as the main hub of that floor plate. The size of the core varies in size depending on the needs of the functions on each floor. The shape of the core, however, remains consistent with the curves found on the vertebrae of the spine.