16.2 SOLO ABODE OR STUDIO

Living alone in a single room can have a variety of psychological effects, including feelings of isolation, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. It can also lead to a lack of stimulation and social interaction, which can have negative impacts on mental health. In some cases, living in a single room for an extended period can lead to feelings of boredom and monotony, which can further exacerbate mental health issues. However, for me, living alone in a single room offers a sense of independence, privacy, and quietness, which positively impact mental well-being. While I was there, I started a garden on my landlord's terrace, decorated the tiny balcony next to my room, and spent my free time reading enlightening literature. Living in a single room alone can have both positive and negative effects on one's psychology.

Positive effects include:

1. Increased independence and self-reliance

2. Opportunities for introspection and personal growth

3. A quieter, more controlled living environment

4. Reduced distractions and a greater sense of privacy

5. More time and space for personal interests and hobbies.

16.3 MIXED-AGE GROUP ENVIRONMENT

Living in a mixed-age group environment can impact mental health in various ways. It can have both positive and negative effects. Residing among family tenants and others of a similar age group facilitates the exploration of a variety of hobbies. The eloquence may be fostered by playing with children. One can experience reliance and safety through the interchange of both ideas and commodities.

Positive effects include:

1. Opportunities for intergenerational learning and growth

2. A diverse social network and support system

3. Improved emotional well-being through a sense of community and belonging

4. Increased empathy and understanding for others

5. Decreased social isolation and loneliness.

(Effects mood in a positive sense)

Other Impactful Places

Psychological needs are not a word used in architecture. In his conversations with architects, Louis Kahn distinguished between "a space" and "an architectural space" when describing the characteristics of a place. According to his theory, anyone may create a space or a combination of spaces, but only an architect can create an architectural space.

He meant that anybody may design a structure if they are highly concerned with the demands of that space, but an architectural space also serves the psychological needs of those who use it in addition to the physical needs. a structure that was solely created with psychological demands in account.

Beyond just having a nice look, the good architectural design offers certain psychological and physiological advantages. We now know that bad architectural design and implementation directly correlate with detrimental health and psychological problems. The evolutionary roots of many of those psychological and physiological reactions to design are now well understood. By applying that understanding and the technical resources at our disposal, we have the chance to design architecture that is not only visually pleasing but also, and maybe more crucially, psychologically advantageous.

Employing an architectural design that doesn't make use of features proven to provide psychological and restorative advantages is no longer an option, given the rising prevalence of health issues such as stress-induced heart attacks and obesity, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, etc.

Furthermore, according to Robert Sommer, the personal space bubble is a rational architectural unit (Lynch, 1997). It could be a fascinating and practical idea for architects to have when imagining how space interacts, but it is not a guide to follow. In other words, adding four blank walls to a room to create seclusion won't fix the room's psychological problems. More engagement, collaboration, and understanding between designers and environmental psychologists is the best method to achieve this in today's complicated surroundings. A place should be adaptable enough to be personalised by diverse inhabitants.

It's also critical that we re-examine the deeply rooted social stereotypes that have unfairly reduced the discipline of architectural design to nothing more than an artistic endeavour, depriving it of the significant credibility it merits as a subject with the capacity to truly advance society.

Thereby the psychological effects of careless architectural design won't ever be addressed, and the field will continue to lack the resources needed to improve the world we live in if the positive psychological and restorative effects of architecture are only recognised by psychologists and architects and not by the general public. To put it briefly, this has to be acknowledged as a critical issue facing society as a whole.