Abstract:
Amid the social and medical harms of the twentieth century, drug abuse stands above everything as
on one of the most devastating and expensive. Virtually all addictive drugs boost the reward system
of the brain by flooding it with the neurotransmitter dopamine. The produced euphoria and the
heightened pleasure can be so compelling that the brain wants that feeling back over and over again.
“You don’t get over an addiction by stopping using. You recover by creating a new life where it is
easier to not use. If you don’t create a new life, then all the factors that brought you to your addiction
will catch up with you again.”
This research paper is an attempt to study on drug abuse, behaviour of the abuser and the
spatial behaviour of an individual with the habit of drug abuse/ addiction and how architecture can
enhance the process of rehabilitation. These identifications form the basis for articulating a design
strategy concerning architectural involvement in restoring and relieving their mind and soul. The
research paper focuses on strategies and solutions to help the addicts to overcome their addictions
through therapeutic architecture.
The research paper focuses mainly on three objectives.
1. To help the patients to recover from psychological, mental, and physical problems caused
due to substance drug abuse.
2. To help the addicts to live a normal life by being accepted in the society and being
independent.
3. To create awareness and educating the people about the ill-efforts of alcoholism and
substance abuse on the individual, the family and the society at large.
This report consists of a theoretical study regarding relation of architecture and mind through
therapeutic architecture and also enhances the scope and possible ways through which architecture
can provide possible solutions for better rehabilitative measures.
The main aim of this thesis proposal is to assist alcoholic and drug dependant people by
providing rehabilitation measures. The project strives to provide rehabilitative measures in a
very innovative, open and guided approach combining research, probable solutions and better
design.
