The Architecture of Stimmung
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Abstract
This thesis examines the environment, atmosphere and experience of patients who have undergone treatment for or who have been affected by cancer. The design is inspired by Martin Heidegger's concept of “Stimmung” (mood, atmosphere or attunement) in which mood constitutes how we as individuals experience the world as it is directly related to our feelings, thoughts and our understandings. According to the writer Matthew Ratcliffe, being in some mood or another is essential to the distinctively human way of “belonging to the world.”
Located in Quincy, Washington, the rural cancer treatment and recovery center will help the patient reconnect with the world and their surroundings. Exploring the synesthetic dimension of experience, which emphasizes the interconnection of all the senses, my design will attempt to aid in the healing process and overall health and wellness of the patient. Seeking analogies between musical harmony, architectural space and the human body it is my intention to set the stage for the clinical treatment of patients within an environment conducive to healing relationship to the experience and the patients overall health.