Date of Award

Spring 5-31-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Architecture (MArch)

Department

Architecture

First Advisor

Kyna Leski

Second Advisor

Michael Kubo

Third Advisor

Chris Bardt

Abstract

This thesis explores the hospital as a prosthetic—a structural and spatial support for the human body in moments of vulnerability. Like a crutch or cast, the hospital temporarily supports patients in their transition from horizontal (infirm) to vertical (mobile), yet its architecture often fails to contribute meaningfully to that healing process. While clinical treatment is prioritized, the spatial, emotional, and sensory dimensions of care are neglected. What supports what becomes a central question: the building holds the body, but the body also gives meaning to the building. Their relationship is reciprocal.

Rather than proving that good design improves health—an idea well-documented in research—this thesis seeks to act on that understanding. It proposes a healthcare architecture that actively contributes to healing rather than standing by passively or even working against it.

The project is situated at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, a site that enables layered inquiry. It investigates how healthcare infrastructure can address broader urban issues: housing insecurity, access to mental and physical rehabilitation, and urban connectivity. It envisions a complex that includes outpatient mental and dental care, physical rehabilitation, and a variety of housing options (temporary, senior, low-income, market-rate), each with separate yet integrated access.

This thesis explores how a hospital can become both a machine for healing and a place of habitation—an urban prosthetic that supports physical, emotional, and social recovery. Through attention to light, views, atmosphere, and movement, it seeks to reimagine medical architecture as an agent of care, community, and continuity.

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