Date of Submission
Spring 5-7-2023
Degree Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Tim Frank
Abstract
Mental health is a highly stigmatized topic within today’s society. The mental health system in the United States has failed to consistently create safe and successful spaces for recovering patients with psychological disorders.
Facilities are often described as “inhumane” by patients in how they are designed. Patients have expressed that there is lack of safe, private spaces. The spaces that are considered “private” are solitary confinement wards with no windows or furniture. It is said that interior design is not a priority as well, with no colors or art on walls. Spaces are cold and dead feeling, which does not help the patients in their healing process.
People need a safe and encouraging place to go in order to start their road to recovery. Breaking the Stigma aims to challenge the mental health crisis and create a calming and uplifting space for recovering patients in Millcreek, Utah.
Creating a space that is positive for a patients’ mental health would include access to outdoor gathering spaces, both public and private, natural and artificial lighting as well as colors within spaces to lift moods, and carefully designed rooms for patients to gather with others and recover on their own time.