The idea of regenerative spaces – spaces that heal – is at the centre of this project. Throughout the history of architecture, it has been proposed that spaces can be designed to inspire, change or challenge behaviour, to shift the experience of users. The ‘psy-’ sciences (such as psychology, psychoanalysis and psychiatry) have always held that the position and place of therapy is a core part of the process; there is an intimate relation between who we are and where we are. The site is in the Redfern North Eveleigh Precinct and collocated with Carriageworks. Students select the location of their design on any part of the sub-precincts before exploring how the creation or transformation of a building might help shape or support regeneration, health wellbeing and healing.
Within this context, the studio project involves generating a space for Headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation. While the brief is based on creating spaces for a Youth Community Mental Health service (ages 12 to 25), the emphasis is on speculative, exploratory and experimental projects that challenge the way we think about mental health spaces and physical places alike. The holistic approach draws on concepts of wellness, health and regeneration – including (re-)connection to self, family and community, as well as connections to the local, natural environment and to Country – alongside the built heritage of the site and user experience in general.
