abstract revision

In today’s fast paced western society the increase of stress related illness is life-threateningly startling. Depression is the most treacherous in terms of mental illness killers. By the year 2020, depression has been predicted as the second biggest medical killer after heart disease. Unfortunately, in today’s society, the treatment of depression is usually not pursued or not successful. I feel this has particularly occurred through both the social stigma that is strongly related to mental illness, as well as, the emphasis on treatment methods that relieve the symptoms of depression through routine medical prescriptives, rather than addressing the personal cause of the illness. Therefore, it is my belief, that through the design of healing/nurturing spaces and places that are specifically related to the people with or affected by depression, that a new precedent in possibly more successful depression treatment can be initiated. A range of research methods will be imperative to the successful translation of a place for people with depression. In addition to basic textbook research techniques, additional research will include people research, involving taped casual conversation techniques with people that have or are associated with depression, as well as people that have been exposed to either nurturing or non nurturing spaces. Architectural case study investigations will also be conducted. One specific example is the Maggie’s Centre’s in the UK, who have had a particular success in emphasising the person in the cancer patient. Alternatively, other architectural examples that have received praise or criticism for being humanized or non humanized nurturing spaces could be imperatively fruitful to the design process. Initial conceptions of this new typology of nurturing spaces for depression are; a free drop-in counseling centre dislocated from the stigmated grasp of society. These spaces will offer refuge, support, therapy and friendship to those persons affected by depression. The aim for these nurturing environments is to support people with or affected by depression in their personalised process of dealing with the cause and treatment of their illness in a more homely, casual, secure and natural environment.