02 EMOTIONAL INCUBATOR

[EMOTIONAL INCUBATOR]

Public bath

Summer 2022

Context: Academic

Individual project

Site: Ningbo, China

Insomnia is a condition in which it is not easy to fall asleep naturally. In China, insomnia is more often triggered by psychological factors. People hide their negative emotions in the increasingly involuntary world of work, study, and life. The accumulation of negative emotions exacerbates anxiety and the resulting insomnia becomes a condition that afflicts more and more people.

The project is based on an understanding of Guy Meadows' Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which places the expectation of relieving insomnia on the release of accumulated negative emotions. The design aims to focus on emotional amplification and relief. The design uses the sphere space as a spatial prototype for an emotional incubator, allowing negative emotions to be released and soothed through experiences of a series of morphological derivations and variations.

Spatial Concept

Concept diagram

Space prototype Sphere

A sense of envelopment and security

Space deformation

The specific atmosphere will cause changes in terms of function, spatial dimensions and connection methods.

Research has proven that psychological therapies are superior to medication, and the common ones are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Unlike CBT, ACT encourages instead of suppressing, insomnia sufferers should accept and release negative emotions and find ways to release them. The design is therefore based on the prototype of the sphere, a very enveloping and secure space, to incubate' those hidden negative emotions.

Deformations & Combination

Plans

Section

Extended section & circulation analysis

STEP 1 ISOLATION

The experience process begins by isolating the client from the external environment. The heterogeneous sphere space erases the influence of social life on the client. The dressing session eliminates the human status gap and promotes better communication between visitors.

STEP 2 BAPTISM & SOOTH

The baptism of the middle layer and the two subsequent streams can wash away physical and mental exhaustion. Both ways of confiding and communicating to relieve repressed negative emotions can prevent and alleviate early symptoms of insomnia and anxiety, which are relatively mild.

STEP 3 EXTERNALIZATIN

The design of the top floor is oriented towards the more serious accumulation of negative emotions, which will be intensified and then released through the specific setting of the spatial atmosphere.

Surroundings

Site Surrounding

In addition to the internal spaces, the activity areas around the building are also connected by circular elements. The main entrance connects with a single streamline facing the city, while the secondary entrance connected to the pool faces the river, giving rise to a series of activity areas, including hot springs and a small square. A large amount of lawn has been retained around the site as white space, giving the bath a separate space from the city and distancing visitors from the outside world by physical distance. It also allows the public to have more green space to use freely.