| The architecture of the psychiatric institution has been associated with the medical/surgical hospital when considerations are made for standards for environmental design and what constitutes a therapeutic and healing environment. Much is written on the subjects of environmental design for the medical modality, but very little has been recently directed toward mental health and therapeutic architecture. This thesis examines the psychiatric institution and what constitutes a nurturing, therapeutic and healing environment for those suffering specifically from mental illness. This thesis shows how history and society played a significant part on the treatment of those who suffered from mental illness, how the architecture for the psychiatric institutions was affected by that history and culture, and why current and future conditions demand a better architecture, philosophy, and treatment towards those who suffer from a common, yet stigmatized disease.; The psychotherapist has a set of conceptual guidelines to follow when treating patients who are mentally ill. Through the advancements of the science, much has been accomplished in understanding and helping those who suffer from this disease. Metaphor is one of the tools used by therapists so they may find a common ground with which to communicate with their patients in psychotherapy treatment. Likewise, architects have long used metaphor and analogy through symbolism to create spaces that have meaning.; Through the use of conceptual guidelines practiced in both fields, this thesis suggests ways of creating an environment that is nurturing, healing and therapeutic. Those guidelines include clarity and order, proportion and scale, hierarchy and dimensions of space, permanence and sense of place, transition and threshold, crowding and nature, sensitivity and culture, gender sensitivity, and memory and historic preservation. With the San Antonio State Hospital as a case study, this thesis will explain how those guidelines can be effectively utilized to create a fostering environment and makes a suggestion of what needs to be implemented in the future. |
