10 - Spaces of healing

Question 1

Ancient Egyptian, Greek + Roman
health centres

Answer 1

• Used natural landscapes for healing
• Medicine - intricately tied to religion/spirituality - divine healing
• Nature, music + art
• Emphasised sunlight and nature

Question 2

Middle Eastern healing

Answer 2

The Nur al-Din Bimarisatan, Syria
* Closest form to a modern hospital
* First iterations were mobile - moved to battlegrounds

Question 3

Paimio Sanitorium, Finland 1929

Answer 3

Sanatorium - specialised hospital to treat tuberculosis
* Large windows + balconies - cross ventilation
* Access to sunlight and views to greenspace
* Less isolated the healthier a patient got
* Bright colours + timber handrails - design psychology
* Architects designed fixtures - noiseless wash basin
* Furniture - chairs designed to breathe easier

Salutogenic design

Question 4

1970s biomedical model

Answer 4

Holistic model -
bio/psycho/social/environmental

Gardens integrated into cancer facilities, children’s + general hospitals, aged care, phsychology treatment centres

+ gardening as an activity itself

Maggie centres for cancer patients
* Kitchen table at the heart
* Light + warmths
* Views of nature
* Spaces for solitude as well as communal

Question 5

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, India

Answer 5

Largest + most ornatve medieval Hindu temple
* Cut sandstone
* Designed along axis points - cardinal directions from heart of the a chamber
* Symmetry + replication
* Height of spire represents cosmic mountain - divinity

Question 6

The Badshahi Mosque, Pakistan

Answer 6

19673
* Hold 55K worshippers
* Directional - face Mecca during prayers

Question 7

Memorials as spaces of healing

Answer 7

Not static
Strong concepts paired with innovation
Focused on journey through space and time

Alabama National Memorial to Peace & Justice 2018
* Continous - replica of each counties’ list of names to be claimed

Vietnam Veterans Memorial - USA, 1982
* Open design competition - apolitical
* Reflective granite
* Scar in the land
* Focus on journey towards an awareness of loss

Jewish Museum, Berlin
* Very emotive - isolation, trauma
* Large span of time - Jewish history from the middle ages to teh future

Question 8

Churches throughout history

Answer 8

Sacred spaces have always been monuments + natural locations
* Mount Kailsash, the Mahabodhi tree in Bodhgaya

• Built along axis points from the heart
• (St. Peter’s Basilica - latin cross, mosques - directionality to Mecca)
• Height - divinity
• Scale, light + atmosphere
• Often ornate - expression of power and scale
• Sense of journey - often through natural context