Architecture as Contemporary Asylum

Michael Wolf – Tokyo Compression

“I’ve always seen architecture as a healing art, not just as a beautification art.”- James Polshek

Most of urban dwellers in developed Asian cities suffer from mental disorder. They are caged by the repetitive mode of space and trapped in an ever-looping work schedule day by day. It is a complex issue yet of surprisingly low awareness to its harm to individual and our society.

Since architecture is the collective emotions of individuals -We cling our perceptions to the space we occupied, while space around us responds and influences the way we think- it is possible to introduce the city with an architectural level of interference to urge our society to build up a discourse between mental health and social engagement. The thesis aims to look into the possibility of using architectural authority and its monumental value to enhance our social awareness towards psychological well-being, and also explore the possible therapeutic ability of architecture by manipulation of atmospheric rhythm, spatial sequence, geometrical configuration and programmatic order.