Architectural Design III (ARCH607): Healing Environments ©

Faculty: Mardelle D. Shepley

Course Timeline: Semester begins September 1 and ends December 8, 2003

Number of Credit Hours: 6 credit hours

Brief explanation of where the studio falls within the curriculum sequence: The masters curriculum is 4 semesters long (2 years). There are three sequential design studios prior to the final semester during which the student works on his/her individual final project. The studio described here is the third and last design studio prior to the final project. ARCH607 is a thematic studio. Up to this point in the design curriculum the studios address multiple building typologies. This studio focuses on healing environments including hospitals, housing for seniors, psychiatric facilities, meditation facilities, etc

Pre-requisites to the studio: Architectural Design I (ARCH605), Architectural Design II (ARCH606) must precede this studio. Elective courses taken prior to this or simultaneous to this include: Structures, Environmental Systems, Theory/History, and Professional Practice.

Approximate Number of Students: 12 (access to the studio is competitive)

Pedagogic Framework

The studio meets 3 afternoons per week. Field trips are taken to visit project sites and to make presentations to clients. The class will be attending a conference on healing design. All projects involve working with "real" clients.

Project Overview

The studio will focus on two projects: a rehabilitation facility and a memorial to the Space Shuttle Columbia. The client for the rehabilitation facility is the Lewis & Clark Foundation. The client for the memorial is the County of Hemphill, Texas (where the shuttle came down). Although both of these projects address healing environments, the rehabilitation facility is most focused on issues of equity.

Core Objectives

1. Acquaint students with design issues involving healing architecture.
2. Increase awareness of the social responsibility of design professionals; students should love their work as architects because they know they are making a contribution to humanity.
3. Incorporate research in the design process as a means of obtaining information regarding client needs and supporting evidence-based design.

Clients and/or user consultants involved

The primary client for the purposes of this grant is the Lewis and Clark foundation. This new, nonprofit organization was founded by Mr. Curtis Clark who has lived as a quadriplegic since 1983, and Mr. Billy Lewis, a home health specialist, who has been Mr. Clark's aide. The second project that will be undertaken is a Shuttle Memorial for Hemphill County.

Approach to the Proposed Studio Process and Content

The following description of studio process and content is organized to parallel the three primary criteria outlined in the application guidelines.

1. Response to concerns expressed in the referenced documents:
   • 'Real world problem' Both projects involve real world clients who, in addition to participating in the design process will be users of the completed projects. Both projects will be actualized. The rehabilitation project lacks funding but is backed by highly motivated clients. The memorial project has already secured initial grant support. Prior projects in this studio have included a competition for a mobile AIDS unit in Africa, independent living units for seniors, and a human/animal clinic for the Harmony Institute. Students from the studio have been finalists in the National Association for Home Builders Design for Aging competition three consecutive years.
   • Diversity welcomed and respected within the studio. There are 12 students in the studio. Approximately 3 are U.S. domestic, 3 are from India, 1 from Latin America and 4 are from Asian (China, Singapore, Korea, Japan). There are 6 men and 6 women. At least 20 students seek to participate in the studio and the selection process is largely influenced by diversity.
   • Process and/or content to address human-centered needs. This studio has been taught for three years and focuses on healing environments including hospitals, housing for seniors, universal design, psychiatric facilities, meditation facilities, etc. This fall s studio will focus on two projects over the course of the semester: a memorial to the Space Shuttle Columbia and a Rehabilitation Facility. The client for the memorial is the County of Hemphill, Texas and the project will include a monument, a museum, a landscaped memorial for each of the astronauts, and parking. The client for the Rehabilitation Facility is the Lewis & Clark Foundation. The rehabilitation project is the primary focus of this grant. Phase 1 of the rehabilitation project will include master planning for a hospital, a clinic and an assisted and independent living facility. Phase 2 will focus on the assisted and independent living component. The project will begin with site visits/meetings with the clients. Obtaining information from the clients will involve community workshops and, potentially, questionnaires. The initial visit will be followed by an intense literature review. The review will include literature on related architectural prototypes, relevant design research, information on the demographic characteristics of the communities served, and information on indigenous materials and methods of construction. An architectural program will be developed and reviewed by the client. A listserv and/or website will be generated to enhance communication between students and the communities for whom they are designing. There will be a mid-point review and a final presentation and reception for the client. A mid-semester trip to participate in a conference on health facility design is scheduled. Students will work in teams of 2.
   • Potential for enhancing the health and well being of communities, people, and the environment.
   1. Regarding the rehabilitation facility, the intention is to generate documents that will enable the client to pursue funding and process ideas regarding design alternatives. According to Mr. Clark, he spent 10 years in a skilled nursing facility before he realized that there were options available to him regarding independent living. While I have worked with many nonprofit entities, this is definitely the most “grassroots” in nature. While they are currently seeking grants, there are no high-powered organizations behind them. In my meetings with Mr. Clark and Mr. Lewis I was deeply moved by their commitment to this project and see our participation as an opportunity to make a difference. He and his partners are dedicated to changing the world for individuals with disabilities.
   2. Regarding the memorial, the community in Hemphill County was profoundly impacted by the shuttle tragedy. The majority of shuttle debris and human remains fell within this county. This community of 10,000 persons fed up to 2,000 rescue workers for weeks, refusing to accept any remuneration or public acknowledgement of their contribution. The cathartic process associated with the development of this memorial will support the healing needed in this community. It will also be of benefit to the families of the deceased and others who visit the site.
   • Methods for evaluating student work and studio outcomes other than the traditional jury review. Traditional juries are not used in the studio. Research suggests that traditional juries are gender-biased. Each project involves three evaluation meetings with the client: a kick-off meeting, a mid-point review, and a final presentation at a reception for the client. Guest critics are invited bi-weekly to conduct desk reviews. Grades are de-emphasized. The instructor has written a proposal to eliminate grades from masters level studios.
2. Description of documentation process and anticipated product. Students will produce schematic drawings and models that will be consolidated and submitted to the client in hardcopy and electronic format. The hardcopy document will be an 11 by 17 volume broken into the following sections: " introduction " mission statement " demographic characteristics of the community " related design research " sustainability issues (environmental and social) " site analysis / photographs " code analysis " building/site narrative and spatial program and, " design options.

   The funds received through the Social Justice Awards program will defray the cost of materials, copies of documents and transportation expenses associated with multiple site visits.

3. Connections within other aspects of the architecture curriculum and other disciplines and/or services on campus. The College of Architecture offers certificates of specialization. One of the certificates is in Health Systems and Design. Students must take 15 credit hours that focus on health design issues. Six credits hours are achieved through a course on health design research and a course on architectural programming. The remainder of the course credits are accomplished through electives. This studio frequently serves to address the elective requirement for the certificate. Additionally, many students sign up for the healing environment studio to help prepare for their final project.

Responses to Reviewer’s Questions

1. Provide more clarity on what the final studio outcome would be for each of the 2 projects.

   In both projects we will be producing drawings and models that the clients will incorporate in funding proposals. As pointed out by one of the reviewers, future funding for the Rehabilitation project may be a struggle. On the other hand, future funding for the Shuttle Memorial project is excellent. The Temple Foundation has indicated their strong backing.

   Additionally, we will be producing schematic designs, which can be refined and translated into construction documents by registered professionals.

2. Please explain why both are being done in one studio and explain how the two projects will be related.

   If this class were taught at the undergraduate level, only one project would have been addressed. However, this is the 3rd and last semester of the M.Arch. design sequence. Previous experience has shown that these students are sufficiently skilled to handle two projects. Also, students will be working in teams. The work load will therefore be distributed.

   The subtitle of the studio is “Design Studio for Healing Environments.” For the purposes of this studio, healing environments are broadly defined as those environments that address the psychological and social needs of vulnerable populations. Community participants in the Shuttle Memorial design process will have the opportunity to work through the emotional challenges of having been intimately involved with this tragedy. When the project is complete, it will serve a similar role for the public at large. The role of healing in the Rehabilitation facility is to provide environments that are psychologically healing at all phases of rehabilitation.

3. Incorporate ways that the unique needs of the subgroups within the 2 projects can be better understood. The subgroups will include: children, older people as well people with disabilities of all ages, people who are disadvantaged, people who are culturally diverse.

   We will increase our understanding by reviewing literature that describes the needs of these subgroups and by making visits to facilities where these groups can be observed. Our college of architecture places a major emphasis on evidence-based design. Each design project begins with a literature review of related behavioral research in addition to the analysis of prototypes. As the primary author of Healthcare Environments for Children and their Families, my area of expertise is children’s healthcare environments and I am able to support students in accessing that data. I have, however, worked on multiple facilities for seniors and have a vast library of related resources. Additionally, students will be asked to collect behavioral observation data at prototype sites that will include information about user age and ethnicity.

4. Confirm that there will be direct experience with the representative users of the projects.

   In both cases, the representative users are also the clients. Unlike some projects, there will not be an administrative body who will mediate or intervene between our student designers and the end users. With regard to the Shuttle Memorial, we have three meetings with the Hemphill community scheduled. Regarding the Rehabilitation project, we will be meeting with the two clients (and other board members), at the proposed site. Additionally, a field trip is proposed to visit a local rehabilitation facility. Previously I have had students volunteer at the facility and I will encourage them to do so for this project.

For more information contact Mardelle D. Shepley at mardelle@archone.tamu.edu

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Citation: Shepley, Dr. Mardelle (2003). Architectural Design III (ARCH607): Healing Environments ©. Retrieved (Enter date here), from Universal Design Education Online web site: http://www.udeducation.org/teach/asj/shepley.asp

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