Abstract:
In 2018 the New Zealand Government released the Kei Te Pai? and He Ara Oranga reports, which emphasised the immediate need for better mental health support systems around the country. University students’ mental health has long been in a state of crisis. This thesis is born out of the need to challenge conventional mental health care and establish architecture which prompts interventions at the early stages of loneliness, stress, anxiety and depression, as opposed to the current “bottom of the cliff interventions,” a system that can lead to self-harm and suicide. Inspired by Maggie Keswick Jencks’s description of “wilted people,” A Remedy for Wilting compares the way in which plants wilt under poor environmental conditions with university staff and students’ individual mental states. This metaphor recognises that mental health is never in a fixed state. It is fluid and constantly transforming. Hence, our healthcare architecture should address people at every stage of mental health and be open to many different interpretations. The proposed respite centre sits on the foundations of Old Government House at the University of Auckland City Campus - one of the few green spaces rich in heritage, in an otherwise concrete jungle. By interweaving with nature, the design stands as a three stage triage system which meets students’ everyday mental health, ongoing counselling and crisis support needs. This thesis takes the stance that architecture alone cannot cure mental illness, but it can create a variety of environments that provide opportunities for various forms of healing and establishes conditions for forming positive social connections. The triage system follows a series of patterns to assist the recovery of those who are wilting: feeling the effects of stress and anxiety and in danger of self-harm. Inspired by Christopher Alexander’s, A Pattern Language, the patterns in this project respond to social behaviours exhibited by people experiencing anxiety, loneliness, depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. In creating a user centred design, the architecture strives to establish environments where people feel safe to ask for help.