Oak Hospital : a holistic approach to healthcare
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Abstract
Biophilic design has the ability to influence lives physically and mentally. Unbalanced health issues, lack of assistance at home, and lengthy distances to medical facilities, create life and death scenarios. Due to these problems, I have designed a 109 thousand square foot rehabilitation center just outside the French Quarter of New Orleans. My research methodologies consist of: literary research, case studies, hospital walkthroughs and interviews. From these investigations, I designed a biophilic healthcare facility inspired by a biomimicry basis. Within the thesis I will explain my theory, which is that a built environment allows patients to recover faster through different dimensions of biophilia such as: geography, environmental influences, space, light, and biomimetics. It is anticipated that the results of this theoretical study will reinforce my theory and that a new healthcare design strategy will emerge. This investigation will be of great interest to anyone involved in healthcare design, architecture, biophilia, biomimicry and any other related fields of design.