Graduation Project - Sanctuary - Film

The brief for this project was to design a healthcare centre along the busy South Dowling Street in Surry Hills. The way I decided to approach this brief was not to design a building that could practically be funded and built, but rather use the medium of architecture to somewhat critique the way healthcare operates in Australia. The ethical question of whether to treat as many patients as possible to a lesser standard of care or to treat few patients with greater care is a difficult question in regards to mental illness. While I agree that ethically as many people that need care should be able to receive care, in the realm of mental illnesses such as Alzheimer’s Disease, inadequate care is either ineffective or possibly detrimental. Therefore, in my design, I have chosen to explore hypothetically what could be achieved without the pressures of finance to create a healthcare centre with only the patient’s interests at mind.

I chose Alzheimer’s Disease for the function of my building because patients that suffer from the disease require specific design considerations and long term care. A good friend of mine tragically lost their father to Alzheimer’s disease last year at the young age of 55 and for the 5 years I knew him I witnessed the different stages of the disease as well as the absence of a suitable care facility. The site’s proximity to the city provides an opportunity to have victims of Alzheimer’s closer to family.

The intention of the design is to cater to early onset Alzheimer’s specifically- that is, patients that contract the disease young. The reason for this is that no such facility exists- patient’s are forced into nursing homes and in some cases, in desperation, the emergency room- both of which are not suitable for Alzheimer’s.

My sanctuary for this niche of the population provides long term care for five to seven patients, which is also integrated with a day care facility for those without full time care needs. This area is located on the bottom two floors of the building, accessible only via an elevator, providing effective, but discreet security. The upper 3 floors are open to the public offering a semi-outdoor cafe, education about the disease, a library and small theatre- promoting interaction between Alzheimer’s patients and the greater community.

Plant life surrounds and weaves through the building, promoting patient engagement with the maintenance and upkeep of these gardens in an effort to keep them as active as possible, both mentally and physically. The gardens provide a range of environmental experiences- from the active and social to the calm, orderly and almost reclusive in order to accommodate the different stages of the development of Alzheimer’s.

Donald McKay of the University of Waterloo in Canada stated that “before treating Alzheimer’s Disease patients as a medical problem or a management issue, as incurably afflicted, as a family burden, or as a challenge for medical science, they must be regarded as citizens of our society, as people worthy of respect.”