Design for mental health : integrating daylight and nature into campus spaces

Abstract

The spectrum of mental and emotional health is broad, as are the causes and the variables within one's environment, relationships, and day to day activities. However, one's physical environment can significantly affect how they sleep, work, and interact with others- especially on college campuses where many do all of those things in the same spaces. In order to find applicable and specific effects of architecture on mental health, this thesis will focus on depression and anxiety. The goal is to find out if there are relatively low-cost, non-infrastructural changes that can be made to study and lounge spaces to minimize the environmental triggers for depression and anxiety and induce activities and habits that promote an emotionally healthy lifestyle. This raises a couple of questions both about architectural design and mental health: 1. Can the layout and design of a space affect how people act and feel within that space? 2. What types of spacial and personal interactions are emotionally and mentally healthy? 3. What are some environmental triggers for depression and anxiety? 4. How can a room's layout and overall atmosphere be altered to provide a mentally healthy space? 5. What are the purposes of various spaces on a campus, and are they designed for such? The purpose of this thesis is to answer the questions above in order to understand the connections between architecture and mental health and use that understanding to design the "optimal space" for a university member to rest or work (while maintaining their mental health). This thesis will use precedent studies, interviews, observations, surveys and an installation to investigate ways in which mental health is currently being considered in the design process, as well as how we can bridge the gap between design and psychological needs. This thesis will then provide a series of findings about spatial aspects that most affect mental health, as well as measures that one can take to improve mental health and recommendations about how this can be incorporated into the design of public lounges and study spaces at MIT.