Phobias-topia
Psychological Theraputic Center in French Countryside | Speculative | Instructor: Georgina Huiljich
The advantage of the countryside has always been the greater freedom of architectural autonomy than in urban area. Meanwhile, in countryside we are strongly engaged into the nature. Its peacefulness and brutalness is a completely different atmosphere from city. However, the countryside is not empty. It also has layers of historical context. In order to maintain the primitiveness of countryside. It is important to maintain the character of the context and use the context as an input for design.
For this site in South France near Carcassonne, specifically, The important context include a chateu in the middle, some Barnes on north west corner, a lodge on north east corner and plenty of huge trees over 20 feet. The primary argument here is to bring in new building massing as the negative of the existing context to maximize the originality of the context.
Episode i. Preliminary Master Plan
Preliminarily, all the building massing are designed to avoid existing vegetation, to maximize the originality of the natural landscape.
Episode ii. Final Countryside Context Plan
The massing connections between the buildings are finally replaced by hardscape and landscape in-between to preserve the brutalness of the countryside.
The project is dedicating to curing people with psychological problem. People of different problems requires different atmosphere to inhabitate. For instance, people with agoraphobia would prefer more private and serene atmosphere while those with claustrophobia would prefer more openess.
As a result, patients are accommodated in units of different atmospheres to match their symptoms, which are mostly at the south part of the site. And simultaneously, the public space is at the north part and designed for different patients to feel comfortable with.
Ground Floor Plan
The massing of public space is closer to and strongly conform to the grid base of the chateau, the pool and the lodge. While the units are further, off grid and more freely organized. But the landscape around the unit is still an extension of the grid.
Oblique Drawing
The reinterpretation of the vernacular aspect of the units and public space is very similar. Their roof are both from the vocabulary of the Le duc revovation of La Cite. Which is mostly happening on the roof.
However, the autonomy of public space and unit is different. The public space is having spherical volume in interior carving out space while the units are having cubic volume as its footprint and figure exterior.
Axonometric Section
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