Studio for Mental Health
How can future architects be expected to design a healthy world when the environment they learn in is unhealthy?
Through research on mental health and ways to design for mental health, I developed a plan for redesigning Ruggles Architecture Studio, the studio Northeastern Architecture students learn and work in, that centered on health and wellbeing. As a disclaimer, this project only focuses on the the physical studio space at Northeastern University as a way of creating a research-backed design solution that prioritizes mental health. There is still much work to be done to address the lack of mental health support in studio culture.
Design and Mental Health with Donald Robinaugh, Fall 2022
The current studio space and testimonies from a survey I conducted illustrate the current fragmentation of programs and their impacts, students’ problems with the space, and students’ desire for change.
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“The space itself is so run down, cold, and crowded it doesn’t feel so welcoming anymore. Adding personal touches like couches in the past have definitely helped and I think bringing those back and more will make a bigger change.”
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“Being under the train tracks, with subpar a/c followed by the bland space, followed by the fishbowl feeling you get when at your desk is not that helpful for a students mental health."
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“Usually students get a seat that’s well connected to the rest of the studio & allows for interaction & ownership of your own space, but sometimes a desk is next to a pillar or separated from the majority of a class. Also sometimes it’s hard to hear professors/crits since the spaces are unwalled.”
Through feedback and research, I identified 4 main ideas my design proposal was centered on.
