Transitions : a sanatorium on the seaside

Abstract

This thesis is about transitions: from sea to hill, from harbour to town, from illness to wellness, from life to death; it is about the passage of time. I chose a dramatic site, in the village where I have spent the past twenty-four summers, a place where the horizontality of the water and the verticality of the cliffs create immediate tension. The project combines a strong attraction to this particular site with a growing interest in the process of convalescence, that nebulous limit between illness and wellness, between madness and mental health. These two interests have become pivotal in the conceptual and formal development of this thesis. In formal terms, the project consists of a staircase which establishes the physical connection between harbour and town. This wound in the wall generates a building, in this case a sanatorium, and a series of tidal pools.