SYNERGY: LIFE WITH NATURE

This project is developed based on visions of what the campus of the future could be, in the context of our own Harrow Campus. Our studio is investigating the possibility of creating Botanical Gardens and in term II a hybrid program for Student Living. The aims of my proposal are based on well-being and mental health, specifically on reducing depression levels amongst students by designing spaces that have at their core an in-depth understanding of the difficulties that foreign students face when moving abroad. The design ambitions were defined following a study of the culture shock, cultural intelligence, adaptation process, as well as habit formation through environment shaping. The spaces are developed to facilitate Cognitive processes –observing and socialization (socializing opportunities), Behavioural processes – learning & habit formation, and Motivational processes – meditation, self-knowledge, and active motivation. This ultimately means creating spaces that sharpen the cultural intelligence of students and also provide clear spatial separation between each activity in order to facilitate the routine formation, achieved through splitting the different zones, such as ‘studying’, ‘sleeping/resting', and by using movable walls.