Date of Award
Spring 6-3-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Adaptive Reuse
Department
Interior Architecture
First Advisor
Jeffrey Katz
Second Advisor
Eduardo Benamor Duarte
Third Advisor
Nick Haus Heywood
Abstract
The suicide rate among Chinese adolescents is significantly higher than the world average, with academic stress and family relationships being the major causes. This thesis focuses on building a place for Chinese students from upper elementary school to high school, where they can regulate their psychology, relax, and ideally reduce the rate of impulsive suicides.
In Chongqing, the percentage of students who attempt or commit suicide is close to 25%. The proposed site for this place of rest is under the bridge of one of Chongqing’s most crowded monorail stations, which is a semi-abandoned park with a beautiful view of the Jialing River. Most importantly, the park is easily accessible to a broad range of schools throughout the city.
The project incorporates psychotherapy programs, such as sand painting therapy, group activity therapy, and group communication sessions, alongside architectural methods of impacting psychological condition. The design takes into account factors such as connection with nature, lighting, air quality, acoustic environment, temperature and humidity, and furniture that allows rest outdoors and sense of refuge, to have a significant psychological impact on users, with biophilic design having the most significant moderating effect.
The park will have three functional pavillions: a counseling center, a separate and private space for adolescents to choose freely, and a public space for multiple adolescents to use and communicate at the same time. This place will act as the center of the broader design, with small functional spaces dispersed throughout the city for convenient access by youths from different areas, expanding the reach of this important psychological service.
Recommended Citation
Zhao, Ruier, "Glowing Under the Bridge—A Healing Space for Wounded Souls" (2023). Masters Theses. 1158.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1158
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